FARMINGTON, Maine -- The University of New England dominated in every facet of the game Saturday afternoon at Dearborn Gymnasium, running away to an 87-37 non-conference women's basketball victory over the University of Maine-Farmington.
With the fourth straight win over the Beavers, Big Blue improves to 6-4 on the season. The setback drops UMF to 1-6 overall.
Junior Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) led UNE with a game-high 17 points, including going a perfect 5-for-5 from downtown. Classmate Kari Pelletier (South Paris, Maine) and junior Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) each tallied 15 points, and senior Carrie Bunnell (Barnet, Vt.) added 12.
Sophomore Liz LeBlanc (Jay, Maine) hit all three of her shot attempts to finish with eight points. Suggs, Russell, junior Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine), and sophomore Eden Cianciolo (Fryeburg, Maine) combined for 27 boards, helping the Nor'easters to a 45-34 rebounding edge. Pelletier also picked up four steals.
In all, 11 players found their way into the scoring column and no individual saw more than 23 minutes of action. UNE totaled 24 assists on 32 made baskets (of 64 attempts), and fired an impressive 61 percent (14 of 23) from behind the three-point arc.
For the Beavers, senior Jillian Ross (Belfast, Maine) was the lone player in double figures with 16 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field.
Big Blue scored the game's first 12 points over the opening 4:34, and never looked back. Pelletier had eight consecutive points in the middle of the stretch to jumpstart the offense.
UMaine Farmington sophomore Kenni Norton (Strong, Maine) scored six straight points for the Beavers later in the half as the hosts pulled to within 24-17, but UNE pushed the margin up to 16 (37-21) at the break.
The Nor'easters were red-hot coming out of halftime, converting 13 of their initial 17 field goal attempts in the frame to grab a 71-27 cushion with 12:01 left in the contest. In the second period, UNE shot a blistering 68 percent (19-for-28) from the floor.
UMF struggled all day shooting the ball against the Big Blue defense, making just 26 percent (15 of 57) of its shots. The Beavers also committed 23 turnovers, which UNE turned into 28 points going the other way.
UNE is off for the holidays and resumes its schedule on January 3, traveling to Lewiston for a non-conference match against NESCAC foe Bates College that evening (7 p.m.).
UMaine Farmington has one more outing before the break, hosting UMaine Presque Isle on Sunday (1 p.m.).