BIDDEFORD — The University of New England women’s basketball team used defense to defeat St. Joseph’s College on Monday night at Harold Alfond Forum, snapping the Monks’ eight-game winning streak.
The Nor’easters (12-5) held St. Joseph’s to four points in the second quarter in winning their sixth straight, 74-45.
“They’re a good team – I expected it to be a fight to the end,” UNE Coach Anthony Ewing said. “But when we’re playing defense like that and we shoot well, we can be pretty tough.”
UNE jumped to a strong start, taking a 6-0 lead in the opening quarter. But St. Joseph’s (15-3) quickly answered with 3-pointers by Abbie Eastman and Regan McFerran to tie the game. The teams then exchanged leads eight times in the quarter, with the Nor’easters allowing the Monks 10 second-chance points.
“They were getting a lot of offensive rebounds, and that led to a lot of points for them,” said UNE junior Olivia Shaw, a Saco native. “Our major focus heading into the second quarter was limiting those offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities.”
UNE held a 20-19 lead after the first quarter, but outscored the Monks 23-4 in the second quarter.
Guard Kelsi McNamara – St. Joseph’s leading scorer – was averaging 15.5 points per game entering Monday’s game, but did not score, going 0 for 9 from the field.
“We did a really nice job on the McNamara kid – she’s a really good scorer,” Ewing said. “We tried to make sure she didn’t get into a groove, and we achieved that.”
Alicia Brown , UNE’s 6-foot-4 center, had a strong defensive game with a game-high eight defensive rebounds, four blocks and three steals.
“She covers up a lot of mistakes for us,” Ewing said of Brown. “When we fail a little bit, our 6-4 kid is there to sure up the rim. Even when she doesn’t block shots, she gets in their heads.”
The Nor’easters got a big second quarter from Jocelyn Chaput and Lindsay Howland, who scored two 3-pointers each.
“We didn’t give them second-chance opportunities,” Howland said. “And we just kept shooting.”
With 1.2 seconds left in the half, St. Joseph’s Brianne Maloney made two free throws to cut the Nor’easters’ lead to 20 points at halftime.
UNE sustained a comfortable lead until the end. Four players scored double figures – Sadie Nelson (12), Olivia Shaw (11), Chaput (11) and Howland (10).
UNE outrebounded St. Joseph’s 41-34 and pressured the Monks into making just 10 of their 55 field-goal attempts.
The Nor’easters also had success from beyond the arc, making 10 of their 19 3-point attempts.
Hannah Marks led St. Joseph’s with 11 points.
“It means a lot to us to prove to ourselves that we can play with a great team,” Shaw said. “It’s a big win for us.”
Taylor Vortherms can be contacted at 791-6417 or
tvortherms@pressherald.com
Twitter: TaylorVortherms
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