BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Second-seeded University of New England broke away from a 40-all deadlock with nine unanswered points and secured a 51-45 victory against No.7 Western New England University in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Women's Basketball Championship on Tuesday night (Feb. 22) inside the Harold Alfond Forum on Coach Beaudry's Court.

Now winners of nine consecutive outings -- approaching double digits for the first time since 2017-18 (10) -- the Nor'easters (18-8) advance to host No.3 Endicott College in Thursday's 7 p.m. semifinal round [Interactive Bracket]. The Gulls eliminated Salve Regina University, 64-52, to progress in the tournament.

UNE entered the 4th quarter with a 35-34 edge, and after the Golden Bears went ahead twice, a triple from Abby Cavallaro [CCC 2nd Team] marked the game's 12th and final lead-change (40-38) with 5:43 to go. While Lindsey Carey tied it up for the visitors at 4:37, Cavallaro responded on the very next possession with a step-back trey from the corner [Watch]. The points made Cavallaro the 26th player in program history to reach 1,000 for a career (82nd game).

A steal by Juliana Tracey then led to a long jumper by CCC Player of the Year Jordyn Franzen, and following a WNEU long-distance look that just rimmed out, Tracey banked home a wing three-pointer (48-40) for force a Golden Bears timeout with just under three minutes remaining [Watch Franzen / Watch Tracey].

Cavallaro added one free throw before Carey ended the 9-0 run with a three-pointer (1:43), and two from Grace Fisher [CCC 2nd Team] made it 49-45 with 0:58 on the board. Both sides missed free throws and committed turnovers prior to Western New England going 0-for-3 on one trip, and the ensuing foul at 0:06 sent Cavallaro to the line for a couple more to seal it.

Cavallaro led all scorers with 18 points, with half in that final frame. Franzen finished with her sixth double-double, going for 12 points, a game-best 11 rebounds, and three steals. Kaylee Beyor [CCC 3rd Team] contributed nine points, six caroms, and two blocks, while Allie Goodman [CCC 3rd Team] grabbed another 10 rebounds.

For the Golden Bears (11-16), Julia Quinn tallied 13 points and Fisher notched 12 to go with 10 boards and four blocks.

Franzen started fast for the Nor'easters, with three put-back layups and eight points in the opening period. Quinn was sharp from the tip, as well, as her seven in the stanza and the team's 64 percent shooting helped WNEU to a five-point margin (17-12). However, Cavallaro beat the buzzer with her first triple of the contest to bring the hosts closer [Watch].

The visiting squad maintained a slim edge of no more than four for the duration of the 2nd and led 25-24 at the midway pause. UNE immediately moved in front as the 3rd quarter began, and things shifted back-and-forth with a separation topping out at three prior to Cavallaro netting the last hoop for a one-point cushion through 30 minutes [Watch].

The Nor'easter defense limited their opponents to just 25 percent field-goal accuracy over the final three periods.

Thursday's semifinal date with Endicott will be the rubber match to a regular-season split. UNE held off the Gulls in Beverly, 66-60, way back on November 20, and the Nor'easters' most recent setback was to EC in Biddeford (55-43) on January 25.