Feb 11, 2012
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England women's basketball team forced 32 Nichols College turnovers on its way to a 74-39 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory Saturday afternoon at James A. Beaudry Gymnasium.
The win is the 12th in the last 13 outings for the Nor'easters (19-4, 14-2 CCC), who clinched at least a share of the CCC regular-season title with the victory. Nichols (5-18, 4-12 CCC) fell for the sixth time in its last seven starts. UNE has won five consecutive meetings with the Bison.
The Nor'easters placed four players in double figures led by 12 points apiece from junior Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) and sophomore Lauren Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine). Suggs was 4 of 6 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds, while Rousseau dished out a career-best eight assists and added three of UNE's 18 steals.
UNE senior Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) finished with 11 points, seven boards, five steals and three assists, and junior Liz LeBlanc (Jay, Maine) scored 10 points, including two 3-pointers in two attempts from beyond the arc.
Senior Chelsea Shaughnessy (Halifax, Mass.) scored eight points to lead the Bison. Junior Hayley Zophin (Framingham, Mass.) contributed six points and a team-best six rebounds.
Despite struggling just a bit offensively in the early going, the Nor'easters were able to limit Nichols to just four points over the opening 9:31 in building an 18-4 advantage. Still up 14 (26-12) with 3:42 left in the frame, Big Blue scored seven unanswered points before settling for a 33-17 lead heading into the locker room.
The second half started with a 9-2 Nor'easter run as the home team established a 42-19 cushion. Suggs tallied five points during the spurt, and UNE continued to steadily pull away from there.
The Nor'easters shot 62.5 percent (15 of 24) in the second frame and made half (28-for-56) of their field goal attempts on the afternoon. UNE held a 35-27 rebounding edge and doubled-up (44-22) Nichols in points in the paint. The Nor'easters also received 32 points off the bench as all 12 players saw at least 10 minutes of action.
Both teams are back in action Tuesday. Nichols heads to Newport, R.I. for a 6 p.m. game at Salve Regina University. The Nor'easters will look to lock up the top seed for the upcoming CCC Championship when they travel to rival Endicott College for a 6 p.m. tilt.
The win is the 12th in the last 13 outings for the Nor'easters (19-4, 14-2 CCC), who clinched at least a share of the CCC regular-season title with the victory. Nichols (5-18, 4-12 CCC) fell for the sixth time in its last seven starts. UNE has won five consecutive meetings with the Bison.
The Nor'easters placed four players in double figures led by 12 points apiece from junior Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) and sophomore Lauren Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine). Suggs was 4 of 6 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds, while Rousseau dished out a career-best eight assists and added three of UNE's 18 steals.
UNE senior Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) finished with 11 points, seven boards, five steals and three assists, and junior Liz LeBlanc (Jay, Maine) scored 10 points, including two 3-pointers in two attempts from beyond the arc.
Senior Chelsea Shaughnessy (Halifax, Mass.) scored eight points to lead the Bison. Junior Hayley Zophin (Framingham, Mass.) contributed six points and a team-best six rebounds.
Despite struggling just a bit offensively in the early going, the Nor'easters were able to limit Nichols to just four points over the opening 9:31 in building an 18-4 advantage. Still up 14 (26-12) with 3:42 left in the frame, Big Blue scored seven unanswered points before settling for a 33-17 lead heading into the locker room.
The second half started with a 9-2 Nor'easter run as the home team established a 42-19 cushion. Suggs tallied five points during the spurt, and UNE continued to steadily pull away from there.
The Nor'easters shot 62.5 percent (15 of 24) in the second frame and made half (28-for-56) of their field goal attempts on the afternoon. UNE held a 35-27 rebounding edge and doubled-up (44-22) Nichols in points in the paint. The Nor'easters also received 32 points off the bench as all 12 players saw at least 10 minutes of action.
Both teams are back in action Tuesday. Nichols heads to Newport, R.I. for a 6 p.m. game at Salve Regina University. The Nor'easters will look to lock up the top seed for the upcoming CCC Championship when they travel to rival Endicott College for a 6 p.m. tilt.