NEW LONDON, R.I. – February 14, 2009 – The University of New England came up with two steals in the final minute to come from behind for a 72-71 victory over the Chargers, in TCCC action Saturday. The Nor'easters used a 7-1 run in the final two and a half minutes to escape with the one-point road victory. UNE moves to 17-6 overall and 10-1 in TCCC play. The Chargers fall to 14-8 overall and remain in fourth place in the TCCC with an 8-3 record.
The first half was a seesaw affair which saw four ties and five lead changes. The game was tied at 35 apiece with 1:25 left in the first 20 minutes when both teams exchanged three-pointers in the final minute to have the score remain tied, 38-38, heading into the locker-room. Freshman Kari Pelletier (South Paris, Maine) led UNE in the first stanza with 10 points. For the Chargers, senior Ellen Naughton (Reading, Mass.) played extremely well with 13 points on 5-7 shooting from the floor. The Nor'easters were nearly perfect from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes knocking down 13 of 14.
The Nor'easters sparked the play of freshman Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) and sophomore Carrie Bunnell (Barnet, Vt.), jumped out to their largest lead of the game eight minutes into the second half. UNE used a 20-6 run to create distance from the Chargers as Bunnell scored six straight followed by seven straight from Russell. However, Colby-Sawyer went on a 12-0 run cutting the UNE lead to two at 58-56. Senior Kayt Racz (Worthington, Mass.) scored eight of her 11 points in the second half to keep the Chargers within striking distance.
The Chargers kept clawing their way back into the game until and took their first lead of the second half at 66-65 with five minutes to play. Colby-Sawyer was able to hold of UNE until the final minute of play when Nor'easters used a couple of trap plays to force two turnovers by the Chargers. UNE senior Alli Gamache (Dudley, Mass.) hit a jumper with 21 seconds left to give the Nor'easters a 71-70 lead. At the other end of the court senior Terri Duffy (Marshfield, Mass.) was fouled with 10 seconds on the clock. She knocked down 1-2 from the line to tie the game at 71-71. UNE raced down the court with the clock winding down when Pelletier was fouled with two seconds left. She was able to make the first and missed the second, but the Chargers could not get a shot off in time.
The Nor'easters held a large advantage on the free-throw line making 21 of 27 attempts, while the Chargers only attempted 12. Russell recorded a double-double with 15 poitns and 10 rebounds in the win. Bunnell scored a game-high 19 points, while freshman Kelly Paradis (Newport, Maine) rounded out four Nor'easters in double-figures with 10 points. Pelletier finished with 12 points off the bench for UNE.
For the Chargers, senior Emma Pasquale (Eliot, Maine) had a solid game with 13 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. Duffy finished with eight points and 11 rebounds.
Colby-Sawyer finishes its regular season home schedule with a game against Wentworth on Wednesday, February 18 at 5:30 p.m. The University of New England will play at Gordon on the 18th.
