Boston, Mass. – Sophomore Erin Morton (Norway, Maine) scored a career-high 22 points in the final home game of 2019 for the Wentworth women's basketball team, as the Leopards fell to the University of New England, 81-59, inside Tansey Gym Wednesday night.
UNE raced to a double-digit lead midway through the first stanza, as freshman Abby Cavallaro (South Portland, Maine) capped an 8-2 run with a three-pointer for the 15-6 lead. Morton fired back with back-to-back treys of her own, and scored 12 of her 22 points on the night from long range, to cut the deficit back to single digits (20-12) with 2:26 left in the first quarter. UNE went on to score seven of the final nine points, holding a commanding 27-14 after the first ten minutes. The Nor'easters carried the hefty lead all the way until the halftime buzzer, and headed into the break with a 45-30 advantage.
Morton led the Leopards with 10 points in the third quarter, but UNE kept the pedal to the floor and narrowly outscored Wentworth 20-16 in the frame. With 1:37 left until the final quarter, freshman Caitlin Riordan (Pelham, N.H.) gave UNE its largest lead of the game, 62-39. Riordan made the final bucket with eight seconds left in regulation, as the Nor'easters headed back to Biddeford with the 81-59 victory.
Morton's 22 points surpassed her previous career-high of 21 points, set last season at Roger Williams. Morton also led the Leopards on the glass with seven rebounds, while teammate Emily Magasic (West Milford, N.J.) scored a season-high 11 points on 3-for-6 shooting from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. Sophomore Stephanie Mini (Topsfield, Mass.) just missed double digits on the scoreboard, scoring nine points with five rebounds and four assists.
Junior Sadie Nelson (Windham, Maine) led three Nor'easters in double figures with a game-high 23 points, alongside eight rebounds and two dimes. Classmate Jocelyn Chaput (Nashua, N.H.) followed with the lone double-double performance of the night with 18 points and 10 boards with six assists, while Cavallaro rounded out UNE's top shooting with 11 points.
Wentworth (3-21, 1-14 CCC) wraps up the regular season on Saturday at Nichols.
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