BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England women's basketball team never trailed in regulation but needed overtime to secure a key 80-79 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory over Western New England University on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 21) at Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum.

With the triumph, the Nor'easters (12-5, 8-2 CCC) complete the regular-season sweep of the Golden Bears (8-9, 6-4 CCC), and now stand two games clear of three squads tied for third place in the league standings. UNE has won six in-a-row versus WNEU, featuring three settled with OT.

UNE led from the start and steadily grew its cushion to seven after the 1st quarter (16-9), 10 during the 2nd (30-20), and 13 through the 3rd (56-43). With the first two of the 4th, the margin hit its peak of 15, and it was still nine (69-60) with 1:18 left. However, 3-for-8 on free throws in the waning moments left the door open for the visitors to get back in it.

Western New England did exactly that, making five of its last six shots. After a Perry Blasetti three-pointer, hoops from Abby Garaban and Paige Winter cut the spread to 70-67 with 33 seconds on the clock. A layup by Caitlyn Hunt trimmed it to 71-69 with 16 seconds to go, before Winter nailed a wing triple with 0:07 showing to tie things at 72-all. UNE had one last look to decide it in 40 minutes, but an off-balance jumper in the paint came up short.

Beyond the points left at the line, the Nor'easters only made 2-of-12 field goals in the 4th, after hitting at least 50 percent in each of the three previous frames. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears found the range for the first time, really, connecting on 12-of-21 tries that included 5-of-8 accuracy from deep.

Down a couple starters from fouling out, WNEU took its first lead of the day with a free throw to start the extra session, and made it 75-72 before Keagan Dunbar answered immediately for the hosts with a trey. Two for Emma Kahn was matched by a pair at the charity stripe from Kaitlyn Santos, and two by Lilly Hedge was canceled out by a layup from Kasey Oliver with 1:46 remaining (79-79). But with the tension building, the Golden Bears went scoreless on their last four trips, including one possession that had two shots before a turnover. Similarly, the Nor'easters missed a live-ball shot, then came up empty on two freebies.

What proved to be the deciding moment came when Faye Veilleux grabbed a somewhat rare defensive rebound for UNE and was fouled with 7.7 seconds showing as she came down with it. Veilleux made the ensuing attempt from the line for the first Nor'easter lead of overtime. Western New England corralled the miss on the second try and got a chance at stealing a result with a long jumper, but it rolled off the rim.

UNE finished making 45.8 percent of its shots in the match (27-for-59), and had a 10-point edge in free throws (19-9) despite going 6-for-14 over the final six minutes of action. The Golden Bears' field-goal percentage was a little lower (39.2%) but with 20 additional attempts compared to the Nor'easters. WNEU stayed in play by amassing a 56-28 margin on the glass, which included 26 offensive boards against UNE's 20 defensive caroms.

Leading the way for the winners was Dunbar with 18 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Veilleux added 17 points, while 14 apiece came from Oliver and Juliana Tracey. Between field goals and free throws, Oliver only missed once in 10 looks at the hoop. Santos contributed nine points.

Western New England received 17 points, eight rebounds, and four steals from Shaina Cooney in 23 minutes of work. Kahn had 14 points, and Garaban chipped in with a 10-point effort that was limited by foul trouble (21 minutes). Hedge totaled eight points and led all players with 11 boards.