NEWPORT, R.I. -- Senior forward Erin Phillips (Morristown, N.J.) poured in a season-high 30 points, and top-seeded Salve Regina University held off a comeback bid from No. 2 University of New England in the final moments for a 76-74 victory in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Women's Basketball Championship game played Saturday afternoon at the Rodgers Recreation Center.
The Seahawks (25-3) earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Division III National Tournament with their 20th consecutive win, and will find out their first round opponent when the bracket is released Monday afternoon. SRU last advanced to the NCAA tourney two seasons ago by winning the TCCC title in 2009.
UNE (21-7), with its school-record 12-game winning streak snapped, will now await word on a possible ECAC New England Championship selection, due to come out late Monday.
Up 54-52 with 11:12 to play, Salve scored 14 of the next 18 points to take its largest lead of the contest (68-56) at the 5:47 mark. Senior guard Kimberly Horan (Webster, Mass.) canned two of her five three-pointers to close out the run.
The Nor'easters bounced right back with an 8-0 spurt in a span of 1:31 to reduce the margin to four (68-64) heading into the final stretch.
The teams traded baskets and free throws until a fastbreak layup by Phillips made the margin seven (74-67) with 41 seconds left. UNE junior Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) was fouled on the next possession in the act of a shooting from behind the arc, and drained the three ensuing freebies to make the difference four (74-70) with :29 on the clock.
After one point each way and a Seahawks turnover, Big Blue junior Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) collected an offensive rebound off a miss and put back a layup with 22 seconds remaining to pull UNE to within two (75-73).
An immediate foul and a Salve miss from the charity stripe gave the ball back to the visitors, and a free throw by senior Carrie Bunnell (Barnet, Vt.) with 11 seconds left reduced the margin to one. Phillips made the first of two free throws on the other end, and UNE's last shot attempt went wide just before the buzzer sounded.
Phillips, recently voted TCCC Player of the Year, added a match-best 13 rebounds and six assists to her game-high point total. She also went 11-for-17 from the floor and 3-of-5 from long range. Horan finished with 17 on 5-of-9 shooting, and junior Lindsay Shorey (Ashland, Mass.) went for 13 points and eight rebounds.
For the Nor'easters, Bunnell led the way with 23 points -- 13 of which came in the opening half. Russell contributed a double-double, going for 17 points and 10 boards. Paradis had eight points and five assists.
The first half saw Salve jump out to an 8-2 edge after hitting its first three shots and a free throw, only to see UNE respond to go up one (11-10) on a trey by Bunnell. The rest of the period went back-and-forth, featuring eight lead changes before the Seahawks settled on a 36-32 edge at the break.
UNE trailed 40-35 less than two minutes into the second period, before reeling off 10 unanswered points to grab its biggest cushion of the afternoon (45-40). A quick five by Shorey brought the hosts back level, prior to taking the advantage for good a few moments later.