BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Faye Veilleux buried a straight-away 3-pointer with 37.7 seconds remaining to retake the lead as the University of New England women's basketball team chalked up a key 56-52 Conference of New England (CNE) victory over previously-undefeated Western New England University on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 4) at Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum.
Veilleux's only trey of the contest put the Nor'easters (6-5, 3-1 CNE) up 54-52 [Watch], and then, after a stop on the defensive end, the graduate forward added her only two free throws of the day to all but seal things with 6.1 on the clock [Watch].
It was the season's first mark against the Golden Bears (10-1, 3-1), who were receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and tied at No.24 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll. WNEU was one of nine institutions that began the day with a perfect ledger. Western New England had won all three meetings against UNE last season, including a 50-49 result in the league's tournament championship game.
The entire match was played within a nine-point spread, with the Nor'easters trailing for only 68 seconds during the first half and logging the biggest cushion of the afternoon (32-25) late in the 2nd quarter on a triple by Sydney Jenisch. The margin was 34-29 at the midway break and ticked up to six a couple of times in the 3rd period (37-31, 39-33), but three-pointers by Paige Winter and Perry Blasetti brought the visitors back level at 39-all. Two minutes later, Winter connected from deep again to give the Golden Bears their first edge since 4-2, and, ultimately, a 43-41 advantage heading into the 4th.
Half of the game's 10 lead-changes occurred in the final frame, as neither side could stretch the difference above two points until Veilleux's closing pair at the charity stripe. UNE went 10-for-10 at the line in the stanza, with crucial conversions by Kaia Anderson (4), Maddy Werner (2), and Jenisch (2) along the way.
Veilleux topped all players with 15 points for the Nor'easters, and Werner notched 14 points with seven rebounds and two blocks prior to fouling out. Jenisch tossed in 10, Anderson had nine, and Grace Boucher added six. Gabby Soter contributed seven boards, four assists, and three steals.
The UNE win also got 18th-year head coach Anthony Ewing to the 350-victory milestone in contest number 471. Coming into the year, his winning percentage with 17th among active Division III coaches and 25th all-time.
Shaina Cooney tallied a team-high 12 points to go with eight caroms for Western New England. Winter finished with nine points, Emma Kahn supplied seven more, and Lilly Hedge corralled a game-best 10 rebounds.
Next week, UNE is lined up to face the two remaining CNE unbeatens (4-0), with a visit to Endicott College on Tuesday before entertaining Roger Williams University next Saturday.