Box Score

BIDDEFORD, Maine – Senior captain Devon Spirka (Wilmington, Vt.) scored 12 points for the Nichols College women's basketball team in a 59-33 loss at the University of New England Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Harold Alfond Forum.

Junior Amber Litwinko (Berlin, Conn.) added 10 points for the Bison (7-5, 2-4 CCC). The win moved the Nor'easters to 10-1 (6-0 CCC) and extended their regular season conference win streak to 31 games.

Sophomore guard Lauren Hayden (Chantilly, Va.) narrowly missed a triple-double, registering nine points, 12 rebounds and 10 steals as UNE picked up their 31st consecutive regular-season conference win and improved to 10-1 overall (6-0 CCC) games.

Junior forward Kelly Coleman (Portland, Conn.) scored a team-high 10 points to lead Big Blue's extremely balanced scoring sheet. Hayden's nine points all came before intermission, as did nine of her rebounds and nine of her steals. She also finished with a game-best five assists. Hayden's total of 10 steals established a school single-game record.

Sophomore guards Alanna Vose (Cushing, Maine) and Sadie DiPierro (South Portland, Maine) and first-year forward Brooke Flaherty (Portland, Maine) contributed eight points apiece for UNE. Flaherty chipped in seven boards, while first-year center Alicia Brown (Greenland, N.H.) had eight.

The Nor'easters led from start-to-finish, opening up a 13-1 cushion five minutes in and moving the lead to 25 (39-14) by halftime. UNE shot 45.2 percent (14 of 31) from the floor for the half, compared to 20 percent (5 of 25) accuracy for the Bison.

Nichols kept its halftime deficit nearly the same the entire second half, trailing by no more than 29 (47-18) at any point but getting no closer than 23 (39-16).
For the game, Big Blue held advantages in rebounds (46-26), steals (17-5) and assists (13-6).

Nichols returns to action on Wednesday with a 5:30 p.m. contest at Endicott. The Nor'easters host Bates Monday at 7 p.m.

Contributions from UNE sports information