AMHERST, Mass. -- Senior Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) had 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the University of New England to a 67-58 victory over Bridgewater State University in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Friday (March 1) evening at LeFrak Gymnasium on the campus of Amherst College.
In winning their school-record 25th game, and 20th game in-a-row, the Nor'easters (25-4) advance to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history and will face the winner of Amherst tomorrow at 6 p.m. The Bears end their season with a mark of 23-4.
Suggs was 11-for-15 from the floor and grabbed five of her rebounds on the offensive end to post her 17th double-double in 29 games. Sophomore Kelly Coleman (Portland, Conn.) also recorded a double-double (her ninth) with 15 points and a game-best 14 boards. Rookie point guard Meghan Gribbin (Windham, Maine) added 11 points and tied a career-high with nine assists. She was 8 of 8 at the free throw line.
Senior Michaela Cosby (Walpole, Mass.) tallied 20 points for Bridgewater State to end her career seventh on the Bears' scoring list with 1,092 points. She also added six rebounds, five assists and five steals. Classmate Elisha Homich (Ludlow, Mass.) added 11 points, while junior Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) finished with eight points, 12 rebounds and five steals.
Leading 31-20 at the break, UNE saw its lead evaporate early in the second half as Bridgewater State opened with a 9-1 run over the initial 3:24.
The teams would trade baskets over the next few minutes before the Nor'easters put together a stretch of eight unanswered points to grab a 47-34 cushion with 10:42 on the clock. First-year Lauren Hayden (Chantilly, Va.) scored four points during the run.
The Bears answered right back, outscoring UNE 14-6 over the ensuing five minutes to make the score 53-48. Suggs countered with six straight points and Gribbin added a pair of foul shots to put the Nor'easters back up by 13 (61-48) with 3:10 left.
Bridgewater State would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
For the contest, the Nor'easters tallied 64 of their 67 points in the paint or at the free throw line. UNE made 18 of 23 (78.3 percent) foul shot attempts and held a 49-33 edge on the glass. Big Blue shot 45.3 percent (24 of 53) from the floor, compared to 31.3 percent (21 of 67) for Bridgewater State.
Both teams displayed jitters in the opening half, combining for 23 turnovers and just 1-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc. With the scored tied at 6-6, UNE ran off nine straight points to open up a 15-6 advantage. Gribbin started the spurt with a three-pointer, then first-year Alanna Vose (Cushing, Maine) drove the lane for a layup to give the Nor'easters a 11-6 lead at the 11:10 mark. Vose would follow with a pair of free throws and another lay-in to cap the run and build UNE's lead to nine (15-6) with 10:34 left in the frame.
The Bears got back to within six at 19-13, and the Nor'easters responded with nine consecutive points to go up by 15 (28-13). Suggs start the flurry by converting down low, then Hayden made 1-of-2 free throws. Coleman rattled off four straight points with a layup and a pair of foul shots, and a Suggs' layup gave UNE its biggest lead of the stanza with 4:56 on the clock.
Bridgewater State chipped away the remainder of the half to pull within 11 (31-20) at the break. The Bears shot just 20 percent (6 of 30) from the floor and failed to make any of their eight 3-point attempts. UNE overcame 14 first-half turnovers by shooting 44.4 percent (12 of 27) and holding a 26-16 rebounding advantage.
After the contest, UNE head coach Anthony Ewing reflected on the mental toughness of his team.
"I was extremely proud of how we kept our composure against a team that creates a lot of chaos," Ewing said. "There were times when we could have folded, but true to form, we buckled down and made plays when we needed them."