BIDDEFORD — The University of New England women’s basketball team entered Saturday’s Commonwealth Coast Conference championship game riding a 19- game win streak and the Nor’easters were looking to make it four straight league titles.
When the Nor’easters went into the locker room at halftime, the mood wasn’t a celebratory one as they trailed WNE by a 23-20 score.
UNE’s defense held the Golden Bears to just 18 second-half points and Vose would score 17 of her game-high 18 points in the final two periods as the Nor’easters pulled away for a 56-41 win.
“We struggled offensively a little bit there, we just couldn’t get the wheels going, and I think once a couple shots started to drop, it really opened it up for us and we started to feel it better and were a little more relaxed offensively,” said UNE coach Anthony Ewing.
Vose would certainly start to feel it in the second half as she nailed four shots from 3-point range to spark the Nor’easters’ offense.
“I wasn’t playing like myself in the first half. It kind of just came to me and when I was feeling it, I was feeling it,” said Vose of her second-half performance.
UNE (25-3) would outscore WNE 18-11 in the third quarter to take a four-point lead into the final period – and the Nor’easters would hold the Bears to just seven fourth-quarter points to secure the win.
“Our defense never wavered. Our defense in the second half was unbelievable. They got 18 points in the second half, which is really good because they are a really good team,” said Ewing, whose team shot 46 percent from the field in the second half, while holding WNE to just 28 percent.
UNE’s seniors would combine for 46 of the team’s 56 points, including 15 from Lauren Hayden, seven from Meghan Gribbin and six from Sadie DiPierro.
Ewing gave credit to the four seniors for their leadership – both in Saturday’s win and throughout their entire careers.
“It’s unbelievable having those four,” said Ewing. “They have been through it every single year and with the same result. We lean on them a lot for leadership and we are tough on them because I know they are going to come through and step up when they need to.”
Saturday’s win guaranteed the nationally ranked Nor’easters, who are listed at No. 16 by D4hoops.com and No. 14 on the coaches’ poll, a trip to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Ewing is hoping his team will receive a home game when the field of 64 is revealed this afternoon.
“It’s a little bit out of our control, but we are ranked third regionally right now, we haven’t lost (since Dec. 21) and I wouldn’t see any reason for us to drop regionally. It’s really in the committees’ hands and we’ll take it whatever happens,” said Ewing.
Vose believes the UNE fans create a true home-court advantage for the Nor’easters, who are making their fifth-straight trip to the NCAA tournament.
“It would be huge, you can see our crowd is awesome,” said Vose of getting an NCAA home game.
One person who couldn’t climb the ladder to cut down the nets on Saturday was Thornton Academy graduate Olivia Shaw, who missed the CCC final with an ankle injury.
Ewing is hoping to get Shaw back for the NCAA tournament.
“I think we are playing really good defense right now, the kids are really playing together and hopefully we can get Olivia back this week with her ankle, so we can be firing on all cylinders next weekend,” said Ewing, who talked about Shaw’s role on this year’s team. “Olivia started most of the year and if she didn’t start, she was the first kid off the bench, so she has been extremely important to us.”
Shaw has loved her time at UNE, which started this season after she transferred in from Brandeis University.
“It’s been amazing. Transferring here has probably been the best decision I’ve made,” said Shaw, who quickly formed a bond with her teammates. “I love it. The team is awesome, they are so supportive, and it’s just amazing.”
Getting to play in front of family and friends has been special for Shaw.
“It’s so cool because I get to have people that I love and people that wouldn’t normally be able to come to my games, get to see me play. It’s awesome,” said Shaw.
The sophomore standout is hoping to play one more time in front of the hometown fans this season.
“We are really hoping to host, which would be awesome,” said Shaw, who is also hoping to be on the floor in the NCAA opener. “I’m really hoping to get myself better, but I’ll be cheering them on no matter what and we hope to obviously make it as far in the tournament as we can.”
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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