WESTON, Mass. – Regis College stayed close throughout the first half, but the University of New England hit 50 percent of its field goal attempts in the second half to pull away with a 60-42 victory Sunday afternoon in a non-conference women's collegiate basketball game at Higgins Court.
Courtney Doherty (Willimantic, Conn.) led the Pride with 11 points and five steals, while Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) finished with eight points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots. Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) and Erica Regan (Sterling, Mass.) scored seven points apiece, with Gonzalez also collecting six rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocked shots.
UNE jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game, with Allie Goodman scoring the final four Nor'easter points of the run. Down by six later in the first quarter, the Pride cut their deficit in half on a three-pointer by Gonzalez, but UNE maintained its advantage at 15-11 at the end of the period.
Regis opened the second quarter with a 7-2 scoring run, capped by a three-pointer from Marissa Prall (Hopkinton, Mass.) that put the Pride on top, 18-17. Neither team scored for the next four minutes until the Nor'easters took the lead for good on a steal and layup by Kaylee Beyor, starting a 7-0 UNE scoring run that ended the first half with the visitors on top, 24-18.
Searcy hit consecutive baskets in the first minute of the third quarter to pull the Pride within two, but the Nor'easters answered with nine straight points to extend their advantage to 33-22 midway through the period. Abby Cavallaro hit a three-pointer to increase the UNE lead to 14 points, and then Madalyn Sanborn made consecutive layups to reestablish that margin for the Nor'easters heading into the fourth quarter.
UNE would put the game away in the fourth quarter thanks to an 11-2 scoring run before Olivia Pacheco (Waterford, Conn.) made consecutive baskets for the Pride. For the game, the Nor'easters shot 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the field and 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the free throw line, plus they would score 22 points off 29 Regis turnovers.
Beyor led the Nor'easters with 14 points, six rebounds, and three steals, with Jordyn Franzen finishing with 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Cavallaro added nine points, five rebounds, and four steals as UNE barely won the rebounding battle, 38-37, including 12 offensive boards that led to 11 second chance points.
As a team, the Pride shot 33.3 percent (17-of-51) from the field and 75 percent (6-of-8) from the free throw line.
Regis (1-4, 0-0 GNAC) begins conference play with three straight home GNAC contests, starting Wednesday, Dec. 1, against Dean College with a 6 p.m. tipoff. UNE (3-5, 1-0 CCC) also heads into its league play with a home game against Suffolk University Wednesday evening starting at 5:30 p.m.