BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Senior Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) drained the second of two free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining to give the University of New England women's basketball team a 76-75 come-from-behind victory over Bates College in a non-conference match played Wednesday evening at James A. Beaudry Gymnasium.
Down by 72-68 with less than two minutes left, UNE senior Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) got a layup plus one to cut the deficit to one (72-71) at the 1:34 mark. After a Bates miss on the other end, Paradis scored down low to provide the hosts with their first lead of the contest at 73-72 with 1:12 to go.
Bobcats junior Allie Beaulieu (Swampscott, Mass.) canned her third three-pointer with 55 ticks on the clock to put Bates back on top (75-73), but UNE junior Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) dropped in a jumper from the paint on the next possession to even things up at 75-75 with 29 seconds remaining.
Bates came up empty on a shot attempt with 0:09 left, and the Nor'easters worked the rebound just inside halfcourt prior to calling timeout with 4.8 remaining. Paradis drew a foul almost immediately on the sideline play, and, following her make on the second try, the visitors could not get a shot up before time expired.
Paradis notched a game-best 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and added seven rebounds along with three steals. Russell helped Big Blue (7-2) pick up just the second win in the last 13 meetings with Bates by posting a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards, to go with a pair of blocks. First-year Kelly Coleman (Portland, Conn.) came off the bench to contribute 16 points as well, going 7-of-11 from the field.
The Nor'easters overcame 22 turnovers by holding a 38-30 advantage on the glass and an eight-point margin (19-11) in free throws made.
For the Bobcats (5-6) -- who fell for the fifth straight outing -- sophomore guard Meredith Kelly (Cohasset, Mass.) registered a team-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 14 after halftime. Junior Brianna Hawkins (South Portland, Maine) tossed in 15 while missing just one field goal try (5 of 6) and knocking down five freebies. First-year Molly Brown (South Dartmouth, Mass.) had 10 points, while senior Annie Burns (Topsfield, Mass.) dished out seven assists, grabbed six rebounds, and snagged four steals.
Bates led from the outset, and the difference reached 10 (21-11) with just under eight minutes gone. UNE strung together eight unanswered to get the margin down to two, and, soon after, the game was tied at 25-all.
The Bobcats out-scored the hosts by five the rest of the period, taking a 41-36 cushion into the break. Bates converted 52 percent (15 of 29) shot attempts in the half, and connected on 4-of-6 tries from deep. Both Coleman (UNE) and Hawkins (Bates) tallied 13 points in the frame to pace their respective teams.
Paradis and Russell each brought the contest back even (43-all, 45-all) with baskets in the early-going of the second, only to see Bates slowly restore the 10-point lead (64-54) it once had with 8:22 left. The UNE seniors, however, combined for 26 points in the final stanza (Paradis 17, Russell 9) to aid the Nor'easters' ensuing rally.
With the offensive output in the game, Paradis upped her career point total to 1,252 and moved past Debbie Main '88 (1,249) into 9th place on the all-time scoring list. Russell (1,098) also advanced her position on the point's list, jumping from 16th to 14th among the ranks.
Big Blue, which concluded its non-conference portion of the schedule at 5-2, heads to CCC foe Roger Williams University on Saturday (1 p.m.) as league play resumes.
Bates opens its NESCAC slate on Friday with a visit to Middlebury College (6 p.m.).