BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Alicia Brown and Olivia Shaw combined for 36 points to pace the University of New England in a 78-68 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's basketball win over Eastern Nazarene College on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

Unbeaten in their last 12, the Nor'easters (18-5) now stand in a tie atop the league standings at 14-2 with two contests remaining before the postseason tournament. It was Big Blue's 18th straight decision against the Lions (15-8, 8-8 CCC).

Brown registered 19 points to go with six rebounds, four blocks, and three steals. Shaw scored 17 on 7-of-10 shooting, and collected a team-high seven rebounds to help UNE post a 42-33 advantage on the glass. The duo led the offensive effort in the paint, where the Nor'easters out-scored ENC by a 48-14 margin.

Kristie McNall added 11 points off the bench for the hosts, and Sam MacDonald contributed eight points with five assists. Lindsey Howland tossed in seven points.

Eastern Nazarene received 19 points from Jaysa Cooper, and 15 apiece out of BreAnna Fraser and Jacquelin Arretche. Kayla Torio recorded eight points and a game-best 12 boards.

Both squads were efficient at the start, connecting on more than 50 percent of their field goal attempts in the opening quarter. After the Lions tallied seven in-a-row to take their only lead of the match (17-16), UNE finished the 1st on a 9-2 run to go back in front (25-19) for good.

The Nor'easters extended the cushion into double digits (37-23) with a 10-0 stretch in the 2nd, only to see Eastern Nazarene notch the next eight and trim the gap to 39-32 at the midway break.

A 12-0 spurt during a span of 2:24 late in the 3rd pushed the UNE lead up to 18 (62-44). McNall had a pair of three-point plays in the burst, and Brown posted 10 of her points during the period.

The Lions, in spite of making 8-of-13 shots in the final stanza, could only close to within eight in the game's last moments.

The Nor'easters are slated to wrap up the regular-season next week with Tuesday and Saturday road dates against Gordon College (5-11 CCC) and Nichols College (2-14 CCC).

Eastern Nazarene returns home to face Nichols on Tuesday.