MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College Women’s Basketball team took a 80-64 loss to the University of New England in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Tuesday night in Milton. The Nor’easters improve to 15-4 overall and 10-2 in CCC action, while the Colonels fall to 7-12 overall and 5-7 in conference play.

Curry scored the first five points of the opening period to take an early 5-0 lead. The run was capped off with 17:09 remaining in the first frame after freshman Jeanette Fallon (Nashua, N.H.) made a layup. After seven ties and six more lead changes in the first half, UNE took a three point lead (31-28) heading into intermission after sophomore Lauren Foti (Cross, River, N.Y.) sank a three-pointer with 39 seconds on the clock.

The Nor’easters took a nine point lead (49-40) after sophomore Lauren Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine) hit a jumper with 13:21 left in regulation. The Colonels chipped away and cut the deficit to one (55-54) after sophomore Ashley Assarian (Chicopee, Mass.) made a layup with 6:22 on the clock. UNE then sank three field goals from beyond the arc over the next 1:25 to spark a 25-10 run over the remainder of the period.

The Nor’easters were led by senior Margo Russell (Madison, Maine), who poured in a game-high 26 points. Rousseau chipped in with 13, while senior Kari Pelletier (South Paris, Maine) and freshman Kelly Coleman (Portland, Conn.) scored 11 apiece. Junior Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds.

Junior Hailey Rafferty (Worcester, Mass.) and freshman Kylie Beltz (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) led Curry with 14 points each. Rafferty also pulled down a team-best nine boards, while Assarian chipped in with 13 points.

Both teams return to action on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. on the road, as UNE visits Gordon and the Colonels travel to Roger Williams.