NEW LONDON, N.H. -- Junior Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) scored 15 of her career high 26 points in the second half as the University of New England rallied from down as many as eight in the final period to pull out a 76-73 win over Colby-Sawyer College in The Commonwealth Coast Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Coffin Field House.

The win was the eighth straight for the Nor'easters (17-6), who sit in second place in the conference standings at 10-1, now two games clear of both the Chargers and Endicott College with two outings left on the schedule.

After the lead changed hands six times in the first 13 minutes of the second period, a pair of free throws from Russell with 7:03 remaining erased UNE's last deficit of the contest to make it 63-62.

With the score knotted at 65-65, nine of the next 10 points went up on the scoreboard for UNE, as the visitors assumed a 74-66 cushion with 3:09 left on the clock.

Although both offenses struggled to convert on the ensuing possessions, the Chargers managed to draw within 74-70 by the 1:45 mark. A trey from CSC senior Katelyn Stravinsky (Norwell, Mass.) cut the difference to one (74-73) with 11.7 seconds to play.

Following a timeout and immediate foul, Big Blue junior Kari Pelletier (South Paris, Maine) canned both freebies to up the margin to three. Colby-Sawyer had one last chance on a deep three, but UNE got the rebound as the shot rimmed out.

Russell added eight rebounds and four assists to her career-best point-total. Classmate Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) chimed in with 21 points, five boards, four assists, and career-high five rejections. Sophomore Liz LeBlanc (Jay, Maine) came in off the bench to tally 12 points and picked up six rebounds.

The Nor'easters helped complete the comeback at the free throw line, as they made all 18 attempts after halftime to finish the game going 23-for-28.

Stravinsky led the Chargers (12-10, 8-3 TCCC) with 18 points to go with five caroms. Sophomore Taylor DeSanty (North Adams, Mass.) contribued 16 points, while classmate Cailin Bullett (Millbury, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 assists, and also had six rebounds.

The hosts jumped out to a 9-0 lead just over three minutes in. Still ahead 28-21 later in the frame, UNE used a 9-0 run of its own in a span of 2:09 to grab the edge (30-28) for the first time. The Chargers responded with 10 of the final 12 points in the period to go up 38-32 at the break.

With a layup 1:26 into the second half, UNE senior guard Carrie Bunnell (Barnet, Vt.) became the 18th player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point mark.

Big Blue still trailed 53-48 with 13:11 left before a 13-2 stretch swung the momentum the Nor'easters' way heading into the final nine minutes.

UNE returns home to wrap up the season with two matches next week, beginning with Gordon College on Wednesday (6 p.m.). Colby-Sawyer hits the road the same day for a contest at Wentworth Institute of Technology.