BIDDEFORD — The University of New England Nor’easters raced out to a 31-4 lead and never looked back on their way to a 72-37 Commonwealth Coast Conference win over Eastern Nazarene College in women’s basketball action Wednesday evening at the Harold Alfond Forum.

Winners of 12 of their last 13 games, the Nor’easters improved to 16-2 overall and remain atop the conference standings with a 10-1 ledger. The Lions fell to 5-12, 1-9 in CCC games. UNE extended its home winning streak to 22 games while claiming its 11th consecutive victory over Eastern Nazarene.

UNE junior forward Kelly Coleman scored 21 points to lead all scorers. She was 7 of 9 from the floor and 6 of 8 from the free throw line en route to her fifth game with 20 or more points. Her 21 points came in just 22 minutes of action.

Sophomore guard Alanna Vose chipped in 13 points ”“ including three treys ”“ for the Nor’easters, while first-year center Alicia Brown added nine points, 12 rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks. Sophomore guard Lauren Hayden came up with five steals to help solidify her spot at the top of the nation’s statistical leaders in that category.

Senior forward Abbie Tonello had nine points to pace Eastern Nazarene. Sophomore guard Lauren Hevy grabbed a team-best seven boards.

This one was over early, as the Nor’easters made 11 of their opening 16 field goal attempts to build a 31-4 advantage less than 10 minutes into the contest. Big Blue buried five shots from beyond the arc during that stretch ”“ four coming from different players.

UNE shot 51.9 percent (14 of 27) to build a 43-17 bulge by halftime, compared to 24 percent (6 of 25) accuracy for the visiting Lions.

The Nor’easters continued to cruise in the second frame, leading by as many as 38 (70-32) with 5:25 remaining. Big Blue had all 15 players in uniform find their way into the lineup, with just four players seeing more than 20 minutes of action.

UNE’s aggressive defense forced 36 Lion miscues, leading to 35 points off turnovers. Eastern Nazarene did hold a commanding 53-32 lead on the glass, including 23 offensive rebounds.

Men’s Basketball

Eastern Nazarene 78, UNE 61

BIDDEFORD — Eastern Nazarene College connected on 10-of-16 3-pointers on the way to 50 first-half points in a 78-61 Commonwealth Coast Conference men’s basketball victory over the University of New England on Wednesday evening at the Harold Alfond Forum.

The Lions move to 12-4 on the year and 6-4 in league play. UNE drops to 1-17 overall (1-10 CCC).

Sophomore Jeremy Wagner led a balanced offense for Eastern Nazarene with 14 points and five assists. Twin brother Justin added 11 points and three steals. Classmate Jaylen Owens totaled 10 points to go with six assists. Five others scored at least six points to account for 41 for the visitors.

The Nor’easters received game-highs of 18 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks from first-year Brayden Morse. Sophomore William Abdul-Malak tallied 13 points off the bench, and senior Kurt Steiner ended with 12.

ENC was up 14-8 after six minutes of action before surging forward with treys on four consecutive possessions that built the lead up to 18 (26-8). First-year Zach Tonello canned all three of his triples to finish the spurt.

The margin stayed in double digits for the rest of the period, as the Lions held a 50-31 advantage at the break. ENC shot 52 percent (15 for 29) from the floor in the frame, and turned 13 UNE turnovers into 23 points the other direction. Like Tonello, senior Brian Hard made all three of his attempts from deep during the opening 20 minutes.

Still trailing by 17 (55-38) less than five minutes into the 2nd half, Big Blue put together a bit of a rally with 15 of the next 20 points to trim the deficit to seven (60-53) by the midway mark of the stanza. Morse had all seven of his points after halftime during the stretch.

But it would be as close as the hosts would get, as Eastern Nazarene answered with a 16-4 run over the ensuing six minutes to put the game away.