BIDDEFORD, Maine (January 23, 2016) - The Western New England University women's basketball team overcame a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime before falling to the University of New England, 68-66, this afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Harold Alfond Forum.
 
The Golden Bears, who also rallied from a six-point deficit in the extra period and had a chance to tie or win the game on their final possession, were led by sophomore guard Dorothy O'Neill's (Staten Island, N.Y.) 18-point, six-assist, three-steal performance. Juniors Sammie Olson (Tolland, Conn.) and Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) finished with 14 points each and also combined for 11 rebounds, while senior forward Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) rounded out Western New England's four double-figure scorers with 12 points and eight boards. Freshman forward Aliyah Brito (Brockton, Mass.) also made an impact in 23 minutes off the bench, securing a game-high matching nine rebounds.
 
Junior Alicia Brown (Greenland, N.H.) paced the Nor'easters with a game-high 20 points to go with nine rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Sophomore Olivia Shaw (Saco, Maine) contributed 15 points and five boards, while senior Meghan Gribbin (Windham, Maine) added 13 points, six assists and four rebounds, and classmate Alanna Vose (Cushing, Maine) chipped in with 12 points off the bench.
 
Western New England faced an uphill battle early in the fourth quarter, trailing the Nor'easters by 13 (55-42) after a Vose three-pointer with 8:24 on the clock. Anderson nailed a triple at the 7:11 mark, however, to spark an 11-0 run that saw the Golden Bears pull to within two (55-53) with 5:35 remaining in regulation. Another trey from Anderson with 3:32 left tied the score at 56-56, and Western New England reclaimed the lead on a pair of free throws by Vujs with a minute and a half to go.
 
After Brown converted a layup to level the score with 45 seconds on the clock, both teams had an opportunity to win the game on their final possession but were unable to, sending it to overtime.
 
The University of New England used a 6-0 run early in the extra session to open up a 64-58 lead, but the Golden Bears had one more rally in them. After junior Sammie Battaini (Leominster, Mass.) made one of two free throws at the 4:14 mark, O'Neill took over, hitting a jumper with 2:38 remaining before converting a layup on Western New England's next possession to bring the visitors back to within one (64-63). A UNE free throw on the other end gave the Nor'easters a two-point lead, which O'Neill erased with a step back jumper to tie the score at 65 with 1:21 on the clock.
 
Brown knocked down a jumper of her own 22 seconds later, however, to give UNE a lead it would not relinquish. O'Neill was fouled on a drive to the hoop with 35 seconds left in overtime and made one of two free throws, cutting the deficit to one (67-66), and Gribbin knocked down the first of two from the charity stripe with two seconds remaining to push it back to two. Western New England was able to call a timeout and inbound the ball to O'Neill, who got a decent look as time expired, but her shot rattled off the rim as the Nor'easters narrowly avoided their first home loss since November 16, 2014.
 
Western New England, which had several chances to win the game despite shooting just 28.4 percent (19-of-67) from the field, trailed 22-13 after the first quarter and 30-25 at halftime before tying the game at 30 on a three-pointer by Olson early in the third quarter. The Nor'easters were able to build their advantage back up to seven (47-40) by the end of the third, and posted a 5-0 run early in the fourth quarter to take a 12-point lead (52-40).
 
Western New England (9-8, 6-4 CCC) returns to the Alumni Healthful Living Center on Wednesday night to host Gordon College, while the Nor'easters (13-3, 10-0 CCC) hit the road on Monday for a matchup at in-state rival Saint Joseph's.