Despite the early playoff exit, the Nor’easters enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in school history, accomplishing many feats throughout the year.
UNE won the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) title, qualified for the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight year, and also was the first basketball team to host an NCAA playoff game in school history.
The Nor’easters also succeeded on an individual level as well, with a highlight being senior Alanna Vose scoring her 1,000th career point back in January.
Perhaps the biggest accomplishment for the UNE squad was the way they closed out the season. After a rocky 5-3 start, the Nor’easters pulled off a 20-game win streak that led all the way up to the first round of the NCAA playoffs.
UNE coach Anthony Ewing was especially proud of the way his team bounced back from the slow start.
“I was so proud of this team’s performance. We had a rugged non-conference schedule and that paired with some cold shooting put us at 5-3. They came together and ran off 20 straight wins with hard work and leadership,” said Ewing.
Although UNE has qualified for the national tournament for the last five seasons and has established itself as a conference powerhouse, Ewing believes that his team is still improving each year. Ewing is happy to see the school’s basketball program trend in the right direction.
With success comes pressure, but Ewing believes hard work will be the key to future victories. He and his team look forward to the challenges ahead.
“Making the tournament for a fifth straight year hopefully speaks to the consistency and culture of the program,” said Ewing. “It’s become an expectation and I don’t mind that at all…As long as they understand the work that goes along with it.”
An advantage that UNE had throughout the season was experience – the Nor’easters were led by four seniors. Looking ahead to next year, Ewing believes his team will be much younger.
“Looking forward to next year is hard because this season is so fresh and these seniors will be missed in so many ways but at the same time it’s exciting,” said Ewing. “External expectations will be down a bit and it will feel like a whole new team. Internally the players will be motivated to sustain a certain level of success that they are accustomed to. We will be young again,” said Ewing.
Although the 2016-17 team will look different, the UNE girls basketball program has been built to last.
— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at sports@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @ JournalTsports.
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