BIDDEFORD — Alanna Vose and Alicia Brown combined for 49 points to lead No. 18 University of New England in a 78-60 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women’s basketball victory over Salve Regina University in the regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 20) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

The nationally-ranked Nor’easters conclude the CCC regular-season with a perfect 18-0 ledger, and with 17 consecutive wins improve to 22-3 on the year.

Vose missed just two shots all day and hit six treys to register 27 points, while Brown totaled 22 points to go with eight rebounds. Nine more points came from Lauren Hayden, and Sadie DiPierro contributed seven points, seven boards, four assists, and four steals. Meghan Gribbin added five points and five assists. Big Blue shot 53 percent from the field in the contest, including 18-of-28 (64%) the second half.

Before the game, Vose, Hayden, DiPierro, and Gribbin were recognized as the senior class for UNE, which now remains unbeaten at home (45-0) against CCC competition during their careers.

For the Seahawks (10-15, 9-9 CCC), Meaghan Harden went scoreless in the first half but racked up 22 points by the final buzzer, and pulled in six rebounds. Allyson Esielionis also found her range in the second half, scoring all of her 12 points from long distance. Jillian Woodward grabbed a team-high eight caroms. The visitors knocked down eight triples the rest of the way and shot 50 percent from the floor, but it was not enough.

The Nor’easters led 13-10 after the first quarter and turned up the defensive pressure in the second to extend to a 29-13 halftime advantage. UNE forced seven turnovers and held Salve to just 1-of-12 from the field in the frame – the lone hoop came with eight seconds remaining before intermission.

The teams mostly traded scores for the remainder of the match, as the margin swung between 13 (34-21) and 23 (72-49) to the end. The offensive proficiency by both in the second half resulted in just seven combined turnovers, after 25 prior to the break.

With the decision, UNE head coach Anthony Ewing reached the 200-win milestone in just 253 games of his nine-year career. Ewing entered the year with the 10th-ranked winning percentage among active Division III coaches.

Both sides are back in action Tuesday as the CCC Championship gets underway. The Nor’easters will host eighth-seeded Nichols College (2-16 CCC), while the seventh-seeded Seahawks are slated to visit Western New England University (13-5 CCC).


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