MILTON, Mass. — Junior forward Kelly Coleman and sophomore guard Meghan Gribbin combined for 33 points to lead the University of New England past Curry College, 60-47, in Commonwealth Coast Conference women’s basketball action Wednesday evening at the Student Center Gym.

The Nor’easters, who were ranked at No. 20 in the latest USA Today Division III Top 25 Poll, improve to 22-2 overall with their 10th consecutive victory. At 16-1 in CCC games, Big Blue maintains its one-game cushion on Roger Williams University in the league standings.

UNE will host RWU in the regular-season finale on Saturday at 1 p.m., with the winner securing the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament.

The visitors led from start-to-finish to defeat the Colonels for a 10th straight meeting. Coleman paced UNE with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. Gribbin totaled 15 points and recorded a career-high 11 boards for her first double-double. Sophomore Alanna Vose knocked down three triples after halftime to end with nine points. First-year Alicia Brown hauled in 10 rebounds to help Big Blue establish a 49-32 edge on the glass.

For Curry (13-11, 9-8 CCC), Kylie Beltz tallied 16 points to go with five steals. Samantha Corcoran finished in double figures with 10 points and also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

The Nor’easters were ahead by 10 (29-19) at the break, thanks to a combined 23 points from Coleman (12) and Gribbin (11).

UNE then surged out of halftime with a 13-2 run in less than four minutes to double up the hosts, 42-21. Brown had all six of her points in the stretch.

The Colonels managed to slice the margin down to nine on two occasions during the latter stages of the match, but were unable to get any closer.

Men’s Basketball

CURRY 68, UNE 51

MILTON, Mass. — Antonio Jones dropped in four three-pointers and ended with 22 points as Curry College picked up a 68-51 Commonwealth Coast Conference men’s basketball victory over the University of New England on Wednesday night at the Student Center Gym.

The Colonels up their record to 5-19 overall and 4-13 in league contests with the win. Big Blue falls back to 1-23 on the year, 1-16 in CCC action.

Jones received a combined 25 points and 13 rebounds out of Carlos Ribeiro (13 and six) and Lambros Papalambros (12 and seven) in support of the home team. Curry overcame 35 percent (23 of 66) shooting from the floor and 46 percent (15 for 33) accuracy at the free throw line by pulling down 21 offensive rebounds and turning them into 22 second-chance points.

For the Nor’easters, sophomore William Abdul-Malak registered a team-high 10 points. Senior Kurt Steiner added nine, while both sophomore Jesse Dykstra and first-year Tom Nason chipped in with eight. Dykstra also had a team-high eight boards.

UNE led by five (14-9) with 6:32 gone in the evening, but the Colonels responded with a 16-1 run over the ensuing seven-plus minutes to assume control (25-15). After extending the gap to 13 (36-23) late in the opening period, baskets from Steiner and Dykstra in the final minute brought the margin back into single digits.

Dykstra converted the initial hoop of the second half to make it seven, but that would be as close as the visitors would get. Curry notched 15 of the next 17 points to push the lead to 20 (51-31).

A trey by Big Blue first-year Brayden Morse reduced the deficit to nine with 4:03 on the clock, but back-to-back three-pointers from Ribeiro sparked 12 unanswered points for the hosts to put things out of reach.

The Nor’easters conclude the regular-season on Saturday at 3 p.m. with a home date against Roger Williams University.

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