BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Top-seeded University of New England limited Wentworth Institute of Technology to 26.1 percent shooting and forced 24 turnovers to advance to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship semifinals with a 62-32 opening-round win Tuesday (Feb. 19) evening at the Harold Alfond Forum.
The Nor'easters (22-4) advance to Thursday's next round and will host No. 5 Endicott College, a 68-60 winner of No. 4 Western New England University. Second-seeded Roger Williams University and third-seeded Salve Regina University will play on the other side of the bracket Thursday.
Senior Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) and first-year Lauren Hayden each had 13 points and eight rebounds to pace the Nor'easters. Suggs' eight caroms moved her into third place on the program's all-time rebounding list (879) while establishing a single-season record for a UNE player.
Sophomore Kelly Coleman (Portland, Conn.) added nine points and six rebounds for Big Blue, and first-year Meghan Gribbin (Windham, Maine) finished with eight points and six assists.
For No. 8 Wentworth, junior Kendra Kerr (Mansfield, Mass.) scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and had three steals to lead the way. Senior Jordan Biggar (Beverly, Mass.) came off the bench to net seven points.
UNE would hold the Leopards scoreless over the opening 5:43 of the contest to pull out to a 10-0 lead. Both teams had their struggles on the offensive end in the half, with UNE connecting on 10 of 29 field goal attempts (34.5 percent) and Wentworth making just 4 of 24 tries (16.7 percent). The teams also combined to commit 23 turnovers.
Leading 25-11 at the break, the Nor'easters opened the second half with a 7-0 run to take a commanding 32-11 cushion. Gribbin hit a pair of pull-up jumpers and Hayden nailed a three-pointer to fuel the start.
UNE led by as many as 32 (50-18) midway through the frame and cruised the rest of the way.
For the game, the Nor'easters had advantages in rebounds (44-27), points in the paint (30-14) and points off turnovers (22-7).
Big Blue will put its 17-game winning streak on the line in Thursday's semifinal versus Endicott. UNE took the two regular-season meetings with the Gulls, rallying for a 63-60 road win Jan. 17 and earning a hard-fought 66-57 home win Feb. 12. Tip-off time Thursday at the Harold Alfond Forum is slated for 7 p.m.
Wentworth, which was making its first CCC Tournament appearance since the 2009-10 season, finishes the season with a 11-15 record, a marked improvement from a 2-23 record a season ago.
(Recap Courtesy of UNE Sports Information)
