BIDDEFORD — The University of New England women’s basketball team opened their 2018 season with a 69-47 victory over visiting Becker College on Monday night.
“I thought it was a great team effort. We played with real good pace. Real good energy and that was one of the things we wanted to make sure we did,” said UNE head coach Anthony Ewing. “We didn’t do great defensively. A lot of times we had some break downs but generally speaking, I really liked our demeanor.”
With 9:02 left in the first period, Sadie Nelson shot a successful three-pointer to produce a lead that the Nor’easters would never relinquish.
At the end of the first quarter, the Nor’easters were up 20-12 and they would extend the lead to 38-24 at the break.
UNE would stay in control throughout the second half as the Nor’easters outscored Becker 31-23 in the final two periods.
“We had great efforts from a lot of different people on the bench. It was a fun first game. We pushed the basketball in transition. We crashed the offensive boards really well. That was two things that were keys for us on the board in there was to rebound the ball and then push it real hard and then crash, we did those things really well,” said Ewing.
Ashley Coneys led UNE with 12 total points, while Sadie Nelson and Jocelyn Chaput added 10 and Sabrina Johnson eight. Adrianna Dowdy led Becker with a game-high 15 points while Cassidy Harrison chipped in nine.
“Jocelyn Chaput had a real nice game at both ends. Sabrina Johnson, who is a freshman, I’m not sure how many rebounds she had, it must have been 12 or 14, she really crushed it on the boards. It was a really good team effort. That’s what I was most pleased with, we had good efforts from a lot of different people,” said Ewing.
Ewing is excited to start the season with a win.
“Our first semester is brutal. We have this one, Becker was in the NCAA tournament last year. We have USM on Wednesday, who is going to be tough. We have a real tough tournament this weekend. Then we have Bowdoin, Tufts, UNH. We have our work cut out for us, but if you’re going to start the season off, you want to start with a good team win like this,” said Becker.
The Nor’easters will travel to the University of Southern Maine in Gorham on Wednesday.
“It’s a rivalry because we’re so close to each other. We’ve been playing forever. It’s going to be our first road game of the year so it’s going to be a tough test for everyone especially our new kids but our mindset is going to be the same. We’re going to play fast, push the basketball and play with good energy,” said Ewing.
— Sports Writer Sienna Barstow can be reached at sbarstow@journaltribune.com or at 780-9018. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.