Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--In a game that was much closer than the final score would appear, three-time defending Commonwealth Coast Conference champion University of New England outscored Western New England 33-18 in the second half to take a 65-47 victory over the Golden Bears at the Alumni Healthful Living Center field house on Tuesday.

Alanna Vose knocked down eight 3-pointers for a game-high 29 points to lead the visiting Nor'easters, who improve to 9-2 overall and 6-0 in the CCC.
 
Freshman point guard Dorothy O'Neill led the Golden Bears (8-4, 3-3 CCC) with 17 points, and sophomore Emily Anderson chipped in 10 off the bench. Junior Chelsea Vujs added nine points and reeled in eight rebounds while dishing out three assists. Senior captain Sam McCann chipped in five points and seven rebounds.

The Golden Bears struggled from the field, shooting 29.1 percent on 16-of-55, while the Nor'easters shot 35.9 percent on 23-of-64.
 
The Nor'easters' offense ignited early and went on a 13-6 run, sparked by an Alicia Brown layup to open the game. Brown (3 blocked shots, 2 steals) scored all of her 10 points in the first half, hitting four-of-six shots from the field. Good ball movement and persistent dribble penetrations opened up the outside for the Nor'easter shooters. As a team, they nailed 12 from downtown. 
 
Western New England was outrebounded 44-36, but turned the ball over only 10 times--six lower than its average coming into tonight.
 
O' Neill (6 rebounds) controlled the WNE offense in the first half, scoring nine and pulling down three rebounds. Anderson drained two of the Golden Bears' six first-half 3-pointers, which cut into the Nor'easters' lead.
 
Vujsâ€"who's leading the CCC in rebounding at 10.7 per gameâ€"knocked down a trey with 10 minutes and 59 seconds left in the half, waking up a dormant WNE offense to cut the Nor'easters lead to five, 20-15.
 
Sophomore Paige Young collected a loose ballâ€"head faked, drove past her defender, drew the foul and sank a free throw to give the Golden Bears their first lead at 24-23 with 6:22 left in the first. On the following possession, Young chased down a long rebound and took a jump shot, which was blocked. Once again, she recovered the loose ball, and blew by her defender for the basket.
 
Both teams traded baskets to start the second half, with UNE having the upper hand. UNE led 41-37, and gained a huge push when Vose nailed three straight treys, giving the Nor'easters a 50-37 lead with 9:30 remaining. They continued their perimeter attack, hitting another triad of 3balls, and taking a 59-43 lead, while eventually shutting down the Golden Bears' attack. Vose leads the CCC in three-point percentage, shooting 46.6 percent from behind the arc.
 
The Golden Bears continued to show physicality and heart, diving after loose balls and crashing the glass until the final buzzer. Although the final score didn't fully portray how competitive the matchup was, the Golden Bears' grit and determination to secure a win was on full display, as they fought hard and gave the Nor'easters a scare.

Western New England travels to Wentworth on Thursday for another CCC encounter at 5:30 p.m.