BEVERLY, Mass. -- The University of New England women's basketball team locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship with a 71-59 road victory over Endicott College Tuesday evening at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Winners of 13 in the last 14 outings, Big Blue (20-4) improves to 15-2 in CCC games. While the win was the fourth straight over the Gulls for UNE, it also marked the 100th of the career for fifth-year head coach Anthony Ewing (against 38 losses), and fourth consecutive 20-win campaign.

Tied at 43-43 near the midway point of the second half, the Nor'easters scored 15 of the next 22 points to assume control. First-year Kelly Coleman (Portland, Conn.) found junior Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) for a layup and the go-ahead basket, before Coleman notched the next nine herself to keep the visitors in front.

UNE drained 11 of 14 free throws down the stretch to put the game away, including all seven of the points from sophomore Lauren Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine).

Coleman posted a season-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field to pace Big Blue off the bench. Suggs ended just two assists shy of a triple-double in support, putting together a 12-point, 12-rebound, 8-assist, 2-block, 2-steal performance.

Seniors Kari Pelletier (South Paris, Maine) and Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) chipped in with 11 points apiece the Nor'easters, and Pelletier grabbed a game-best five steals. Russell's effort moved her into 10th place on the program's all-time scoring list (1,258), passing Debbie Main '88 (1,249).

For Endicott (15-9, 12-5 CCC), sophomore Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) recorded a double-double with 13 points and a contest-high 13 rebounds. Senior Nicole Heffernan (Londonderry, N.H.) and junior Jen McBrien (Medfield, Mass.) each tallied 12 points.

Early on, UNE turned a 6-2 deficit into a 14-6 advantage with a 12-0 spurt in 2:40. With Big Blue leading 21-10 past the middle the opening period, the Gulls rallied with nine unanswered in 1:22 to make it a two-point game.

The Nor'easters took a 30-29 margin into the halftime break, after White scored the last four points inside the final minute of the frame to close the gap even further. UNE senior Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) led the way in the initial 20 minutes with all eight of her points in the match.

A jumper from White leveled things at 31-all as the final stanza began, but was answered moments later by a trey from Pelletier. Endicott briefly slipped ahead at 39-38 with 11:38 on the clock, however Big Blue immediately responded with two from Coleman and a shot from long distance by sophomore Megan DeRaps (Richmond, Maine). UNE pulled away for good the next time the hosts got close.

The Nor'easters will conclude the regular-season with Senior Day on Saturday against Western New England University (1 p.m.). The Gulls visit Eastern Nazarene College at the same time.