University of New England Wins ECAC New England Women's Basketball Championship
(Courtesy of Univ. of New England Sports Information)
Top-seeded University of New England withstood a furious
second-half rally by No. 2 University of Southern Maine on its way
to a 79-67 win in the title game of the 2011 ECAC Division III New
England Women's Basketball Championship on Sunday afternoon at the
Campus Center.
The Nor'easters conclude their regular season with a school-record
24 wins against seven losses. The Huskies finish at 18-11. UNE
picked up its second championship in as many years after capturing
The Commonwealth Coast Conference title a year ago.
UNE would have to overcome a valiant comeback bid by the visiting
Huskies. Trailing by 19 (51-32) with 1:12 gone in the second half,
Southern Maine erased its deficit with a 29-9 run over the next 10
minutes. First-year guard Lauren Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine) got
red-hot, scoring 11 points during the spurt, which culminated with
layup by senior Becky Dixon (Gardiner, Maine) to give USM a 60-59
lead with 9:51 remaining.
After the two teams traded baskets, UNE regained the lead (64-63)
for good on a pair of free throws by junior forward Margo
Russell (Madison, Maine). Russell's freebies would start
a 9-0 run fo
r Big Blue as senior Carrie
Bunnell (Barnet, Vt.) followed with a three and sophomore
Liz
LeBlanc (Jay, Maine) knocked down a pair at the line.
Sophomore Beth
Suggs (Bath, Maine) added a jumper with 5:53 left, and
the Nor'easters held a lead of six points or more the rest of the
way.
"During a timeout, we told our team basketball is a game of runs,"
said UNE head coach Anthony Ewing. "USM put together a great run,
and we responded right away. There's not a lot of panic in our
team."
Tournament Most Outstanding Player Kelley
Paradis (Newport, R.I.) led all scorers with 18 points on
6-for-10 shooting. Bunnell finished with 16 points and seven
rebounds, while Russell chipped in 10 points, seven boards and six
assists. Seniors Chelsey
Meszaros (North Clarendon, Vt.) and April
Mroz (Somersworth, N.H.) contributed 10 points apiece off
the bench.
Rousseau and USM junior Courtney Cochran (Waite, Maine) each had a
team-high 17 points. Rousseau added four assists and two steals,
while Cochran was 6-for-8 from the floor and 5 of 6 at the line.
Sophomore Haley Jordan (Falmouth, Maine) connected for three
3-pointers and finished with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, and
Dixon added 10 points and six caroms.
Leading 28-23 with 5:45 left in the first half, Big Blue closed
the half with a 16-7 run to forge a 44-30 cushion. The Nor'easters
connected on eight shots from beyond the arc in the period.
After shooting a sizzling 59.3 percent (16 of 27) from the field
in the opening frame, UNE cooled off in the second to finish 23 of
50 (46.0 percent) for the contest. The Huskies connected on half
(15 of 30) of their shots in the second stanza after hitting on
just 34.6 percent (9 of 26) in the opening
20 minutes.
"We're really happy to send our seniors (Bunnell, Mroz, Meszaros
and Lyndie
Libby) off in this fashion," Ewing said. "Three straight
20-win seasons and back-to-back championships. We asked a lot of
this group -- it was nice to finish out like we did in front of the
home crowd."
Schedule:
Quarterfinal
Round – Wednesday, March 2
No. 1 Univ. of New England defeated No. 8 Smith College,
64-54: Box Score l Game Recap
No. 2 Southern Maine defeated No. 7 Regis College,
62-59: Box Score l Game Recap
No. 3 Endicott College defeated No. 6 Mass. College of
Liberal Arts, 73-66: Box Score l Game Recap
No. 4 Worcester Polytechnic Institute defeated No. 5 Suffolk
Univ., 77-52: Box Score l Game Recap
Semifinal Round
– Saturday, March 5 (at Univ. of New England)
No. 1 Univ. of New England defeated No. 4 WPI, 64-58:
Box Score | Game Recap
No. 2 Southern Maine defeated No. 3 Endicott
College, 59-54: Box Score | Game Recap
Championship
Game – Sunday, March 6 (at Univ. of New
England)
No. 1 Univ. of New England defeated No. 2 Southern Maine,
79-67: Box Score | Game Recap
