BOSTON, Mass. – Junior guard Liz LeBlanc (Jay, Maine) lead four double figure scorers with 17 points as the University of New England women's basketball team posted a 76-36 win over Wentworth in the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for both squads.
The Nor'Easters scored the game's first six points and held the hosts off the scoreboard for the first 4:48 of the contest. Holding an 8-4 lead, UNE used a 9-2 run to increase its lead to 11 with 10:23 left, as junior forward Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) had six of her team's nine points during that stretch.
After the Leopards cut the lead to eight on a sophomore guard Christine Henry (Tewksbury, Mass.) free throw, the Nor'Easters broke the game open with a 16-2 run and took a 33-11 lead with 3:49 left in the half. UNE led by 25 (41-16) at the break holding Wentworth to 26.1 percent shooting from the floor.
UNE's defense held Wentworth to 25 percent shooting from the floor in the second stanza and scored nine points off 10 Leopard second half turnovers.
Suggs recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while senior guard Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) and classmate Margo Russell each chipped in with 13 points. Russell also added nine rebounds and Paradis had five assists and five steals. The Nor'Easters held a 47-36 rebounding advantage for the game.
Junior forward Morgan Furman (Falmouth, Maine) scored nine points for Wentworth, with sophomore forward Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) and junior guard Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) scoring eight points apiece. Conway and sophomore forward Ashley Stowe (Voluntown, Conn.) each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
With the win, UNE improves to 3-1 (1-0 CCC) and hosts Salve Regina on Saturday. Wentworth falls to 0-5 (0-1) and is at Eastern Nazarene, also on Saturday.
