Playing in only its second road game of the season, UNE dropped
to 5-2, while Bates rose to 8-4, including a 4-0 home record.
Brown (South Dartmouth, Mass.) made 5-of-7 3-pointers in the
second half, including 4-of-4 in the final 5:05, en route to her
career-high point total. Her second-half heroics were reminiscent
of Bates' 61-60 win over Southern Maine on Nov. 25, when Brown
scored 18 points in the second half to overcome a double-digit
deficit.
Alanna Vose's 3-pointer with 9:08 left in the half boosted UNE's
lead into double digits for the final time, at 52-42. A three-point
play by Bates first-year Nina
Davenport (Freeport, Maine) quickly cut the
deficit to 52-45 seconds later.
Bates sophomore Allie
Coppola (Tarrytown, N.Y.) hit a putback on a
missed free throw by Brown, then answered a missed three by UNE's
Sadie DiPierro to close the gap to 54-52 with 5:36 left. Vose
nailed another three, assisted by Lauren Hayden, but Brown answered
with back-to-back threes at the 5:05 and 4:36 marks of the half,
both assisted by senior Kristin
Calvo (South Deerfield, Mass.), as Bates asserted
a 58-57 lead, its first since it was 7-6.
Brown and Vose traded pairs of free throws for a 62-62 tie with
3:09 left, and Brown made her fourth three of the half with 2:49 to
go for a 65-62 lead that the Bobcats would not relinquish. UNE's
Kelly Coleman countered with a layup, but on Bates' next
possession, with the Nor'easters overplaying Brown, Calvo stepped
up to make an open three for a 68-64 lead.
Vose drained another three of her own to narrow the gap to 68-67,
but two possessions later, Brown's fifth three of the game fell
through for a 71-67 lead with 55 seconds left.
Hayden made a layup and was fouled but missed the free throw, and
at the other end Coppola's jump shot gave Bates a four-point
cushion at 73-69 with 20 seconds left. The Nor'easters missed and
got their own rebound but turned the ball over, forcing them to
foul Brown with nine seconds left. Brown made 1-of-2 at the line,
and Coppola's steal at the other end forced UNE to foul her.
Coppola made both foul shots for a 76-69 lead, and at the buzzer,
UNE's Sam MacDonald hit a final shot from halfcourt to account for
the final score, at 76-72.
Hayden led UNE with 19 points and 10 10 rebounds. Kelly Coleman
added 14 points and eight rebounds, while Vose also scored 14,
including 11 in the second half. Meghan Gribbin passed out six
assists.
Sophomore Bernadette
Connors (Windham, N.H.) grabbed a team-high 10
rebounds and added four assists. Coppola finished with 18 points
and six boards for Bates, and Calvo contributed eight assists.
Brown hauled in nine rebounds.
UNE pulled away twice from Bates in the first half but the Bobcats
were able to pull back even. A layup by Hayden with 2:04 left in
the period, however, began an 8-0 Nor'easter run that gave them a
36-27 halftime lead. Coleman scored four points in the run,
including a buzzer-beating putback off a Hayden missed jumper.
Hayden and Brown both had 12 points to lead their respective squads
at the break.
Bates will host Lasell College on Tuesday at 7pm.