Jan 16, 2016
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England scored the game's final nine points to secure a 65-60 women's basketball win over Roger Williams University and remain unbeaten in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16) at the Harold Alfond Forum.
UNE trailed by four (60-56) after back-to-back hoops by the Hawks down the stretch, but a three-pointer by Sadie DiPierrowith 2:07 left cut the margin to one. Empty possessions both ways ran the clock well under a minute until Alicia Brownknocked down a jumper to slide the Nor'easters in front at 61-60 with 21 ticks to go. Lauren Hayden ripped a steal as RWU went to inbound the ball, and moments later (0:11), Meghan Gribbin sank a pair at the charity stripe to set the advantage at three.
The Hawks missed on a long-range attempt to tie but retained possession with the rebound tipped out-of-play off UNE. The ensuing play with four seconds showing resulted in a traveling violation, though, and Gribbin made two more at the line with 0.6 remaining to seal it.
Big Blue (11-3) goes to 8-0 in the CCC with its sixth straight victory, while Roger Williams drops to 8-7 overall and 5-3 in league games.
Leading the way for UNE was Brown with 20 points, including the initial 11 of the match. Gribbin matched her season-high with 13 points to go with six assists. Hayden drained a pair of treys and added 10 points along with seven steals.
Near the end of the 3rd quarter, Gribbin's third helper of the contest moved her into the top spot on UNE's career assist list, passing the previous record of 406 held by Melissa Roller '04.
RWU got 16 points and seven assists from Angelica Ariola, and 14 points out of Katie Lowerre. Bridget Quilty pulled in a game-high 12 rebounds, as the team amassed a 40-26 cushion on the glass.
The Hawks shot 47 percent on the day, including 8-of-15 from downtown, but were hampered by 30 turnovers in the midst of the UNE pressure. The Nor'easters, meanwhile, relinquished possession without a shot 11 times, and had just three turnovers in the second half.
The Nor'easters ended the 1st frame with two triples to gain a 17-11 cushion, and Brooke Flaherty twice pushed the gap to eight (21-13) early in the 2nd period before Roger Williams surged into halftime to grab a 33-29 lead. Ariola tallied nine of her side's last 17 points in the stanza.
Following intermission, the Hawks were ahead the vast majority of the way, other than three instances where UNE edged in front by one (36-35, 46-45, 51-50).
Big Blue will wrap up the first round of the CCC schedule on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) with a showdown at Endicott College (7-1 CCC).