Belanger and Coia Shine, Women’s Basketball Takes Command Over Sacred Heart, 81-69

Wednesday, November 18

Fairfield, Conn.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

Sacred Heart University

Photo by: Greg Greene

Belanger and Coia Shine, Women’s Basketball Takes Command Over Sacred Heart, 81-69

11/18/2015 9:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Seniors Elizabeth Belanger (Acton, Mass.) and Corinne Coia (North Smithfield, R.I.) each turned in 20-point performances to lead the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team to Wednesday's 81-69 win over Sacred Heart University at William H. Pitt Center.

New Hampshire preserves its unblemished record, improving its overall record to 3-0 in the non-conference tilt. SHU falls to 0-2.

Belanger tallied a double-double performance of 23 points and 10 rebounds. The guard drained all nine of her free throws. She also logged four assists, two blocks and two steals in the win. Coia was two boards shy of a double-double, chalking up 21 points and eight rebounds. The 6-foot-4 forward made 7 of 12 shots from the floor and 7 of 10 from the charity stripe. Sophomore center Carlie Pogue (Cincinnati, Ohio) and senior guard/forward Stephanie Spoto (Pittsford, N.Y.) also eclipsed double figures in the scoring column, notching tallies of 15 and 10, respectively. Spoto's 10 points was a career-high. Junior guard Kristen Anderson (Greene, Maine) facilitated the offense with a career-high nine assists.

The Wildcats converted 29 of 57 shots from the floor to shoot 50.9 percent in the game. The blue and white made its presence felt in the paint, posting 48 points in comparison to SHU's 24. New Hampshire pulled down 41 boards while Sacred Heart was limited to 28 rebounds. UNH knocked down 20 of 26 free throws for a .769 percentage.

Three Pioneers reached double figures in the scoring column. Sacred Heart was led by a 20-point seven-rebound performance from red shirt senior forward Hannah Kimmel. Senior guard Kelcey Castro notched 15 points while junior guard Adaysha Williams poured in 14 of her own.

The Pioneers shot 24 of 60 (40.0 percent) from the field and 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range. SHU were outscored on turnovers (16-7), second chance points (16-8) and fastbreaks (8-4).

UNH and SHU traded blows right out of the chute. New Hampshire drew first blood in the game as sophomore guard Aliza Simpson (Londonderry, N.H.) drained a triple from the right wing on its first possession. However, the Pioneers engineered an 11-5 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Castro. UNH retaliated with a 10-5 surge, backboned by baskets from Belanger, Coia and Pogue to make it 16-15 in favor of the home team with 3:37 left in the first quarter. After a baseline runner by Kimmel, the Wildcats overtook the lead with field goals by Pogue and Spoto to take a 19-18 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The second stanza featured eight lead changes and two tie scores. UNH jumped out to a 25-20 lead, but was swiftly erased by a Castro trey and a pair of free throws by Kimmel at the 6:22 mark. The Wildcats retook the lead as a pair of free throws by Belanger were sandwiched by layups from freshman forward Ashley Storey (Cumberland, Maine) to make 31-27 with 1:40 left in the quarter. Belanger closed out the second frame on a trey as the Wildcats entered halftime with a 34-32 lead.

Sacred Heart immediately tied the score at 34 to start the third quarter. However, the 'Cats turned to its inside game, feeding the post and drawing fouls from the Pioneers. Despite a pair of triples from Erin Storck and Williams, UNH built a double-digit lead at 55-44 with 1:57 left in the stanza. Coia and Pogue accounted for 16 of UNH's 24 points in the quarter. The Wildcats led by as much as 12, punctuated by a Spoto layup. SHU whittled the UNH lead to single digits 58-49 as Williams knocked down a trey from the top of the arc at the buzzer.

The Pioneers aimed to rally in the final 10 minute as Cleo Polyzou and Williams posted field goals early. However, the 'Cats rebuilt their lead to double digits as Belanger converted a layup followed by another 3-pointer from Simpson to up the score to 63-53 with 7:55 left in regulation. Belanger and Coia were relied upon in the fourth quarter, providing 15 of New Hampshire's 23 points. The Wildcats maintained a minimum eight-point cushion for the remainder of the contest, cruising to the 81-69 victory.

New Hampshire is back at Lundholm Gymnasium to start a two-game homestand against the University of Pennsylvania on Sunday, Nov. 22 (1 p.m.). UNH then welcomes Manhattan College on Tuesday, Nov. 24 (7 p.m.).

For tickets, visit UNHWildcats.com/tickets or call (603) 862-4000.

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