Second-seeded University of New England began the 4th quarter with a 13-1 run to flip a two-point deficit into a 63-53 victory over No.7 Suffolk University in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Women’s Basketball Championship on Tuesday evening (Feb. 21) at Coach Beaudry’s Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum.
The Nor’easters (18-8) advance into Thursday’s semifinal and will face sixth seed Endicott College, which knocked off No.3 Gordon College by a 60-55 score.
The teams were neck-and-neck for 30 minutes, with only two instances where the spread was greater than three points (Suffolk 8-4, UNE 25-20). The Rams held a two-point edge after the 1st period (14-12) as well as at the end of the 3rd (41-39), but then the hosts took control by scoring on six of their initial seven possessions in the final frame.
A layup by Faye Veilleux got things started, and then Kaitlyn Santos hit a wing jumper for the lead — her only hoop of the night. Following a turnover and Suffolk free throw (43-42), Veilleux guided another one home. Gabby Soter collected the rebound off her own miss and scored to make it 47-42, and then Veilleux found Soter for a three-pointer. When Veilleux canned a jumper at the 5:33 mark, the Nor’easters had opened up a 52-42 cushion.
Suffolk, which was limited to just 2-of-11 shooting in the 4th, could only get back as close as six (56-50) with 1:39 left.After connecting at around 23 percent from the field in each of the first three stanzas, UNE netted half of its attempts in the 4th to settle at 29 percent for the match (18-for-62). The Nor’easters compensated by outscoring the visitors by 15 at the line (24-9), and registering 18 second-chance points from 21 offensive rebounds. The hosts finished with a 45-34 advantage on the boards.
Veilleux paced UNE with 21 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. Keagan Dunbar added 13 points with five assists, and Kasey Oliver contributed 10 points, six caroms, and four helpers off the bench. Juliana Tracey went for nine points with six rebounds, and Soter tallied seven points on top of nine boards prior to fouling out with a few minutes to go.Santos accounted for seven of the team’s offensive caroms and wound up with game-highs of 10 rebounds and three steals (shared).For the Rams (13-13), Amanda DeAngelis totaled 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and a couple blocks. Madi Mahoney also scored 13 points, and Katie Kirsch notched 10. Suffolk shot 38 percent overall (20-for-53), but was hampered by 20 turnovers and 9-of-18 accuracy at the charity stripe.In the finale just three days earlier, the Rams had clipped the Nor’easters by three.Looking ahead to Thursday’s matchup, UNE swept Endicott during the regular season for the first time since 2017-18 — 80-58 (Dec. 6 in Biddeford) and 74-69 in overtime (Jan. 24 in Beverly).
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