DUDLEY, Mass. (Feb. 20) – Sophomore guard Kari Pelletier scored a game-high 22 points to lead the University of New England women’s basketball team to a 73-49 The Commonwealth Coast Conference victory at Nichols Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Nor’Easters claim a share of the TCCC regular-season title with an 11-2 conference record, while improving to 20-5 overall. Nichols concludes its season at 12-12 overall and 5-8 in conference action.
Margo Russell joined Pelletier in double figures, scoring 15 points to go with seven rebounds. Carrie Bunnell added 11 points, and Eden Cianciolo pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Junior forward Jessica Nelson (No. Providence, R.I.) led Nichols with 16 points and eight rebounds. Senior Lyndsey Bennett (No. Brookfield, Mass.) added eight rebounds to go with five points. She and senior Alena Jasinski (Canton, Conn.), who scored six points on a pair of three-pointers, were honored prior to the game.
After the Nor’Easters jumped out to a six-point lead, Nichols answered back with a 7-0 run to take a one-point lead, 9-8, just over six minutes in. The teams battled closely with rebounds playing a key role in both teams’ performances. UNE broke it open late in the half on a 14-5 run to head into the break with a 32-21 advantage.
The Bison got as close as 10 in the second half, but the Nor’Easters kept the game out of reach, thanks in part to a nine-of-10 performance at the line from Russell and a four-for-six from three-point range combined from Kelly Paradis and Bunnell. UNE posted a 14-2 run over the final three minutes for the final 73-49 score.
The Nor’Easters got 24 points from their bench, and held a slim rebounding advantage at 50-46. UNE scored 26 points off of the Bison’s 27 turnovers, while Nichols parlayed the Nor’Easters’ 22 turnovers into 20 points.
UNE will host a TCCC quarterfinal game on Tuesday, while Nichols sees its season end prior to the conference tournament for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
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