NEWPORT, R.I.—Salve Regina played like a team that still had plenty to prove on Saturday, beating Gordon 67-44 in a game they led cover to cover. Despite Gordon being locked into the eighth seed coming into the day, the home Seahawks still had a chance to jump up in the playoff seedings with a win and some help across the league. The Seahawks did their part with the convincing victory, but were forced to settle for seventh due to other results.

Gordon's tough second half of results continued as the fell for the sixth straight game. The Fighting Scots rounded the turn at 4-5 in conference play, but finished 5-13 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. Gordon is also 7-18 overall. Salve Regina improved to 8-10 in conference action and 10-15 this year.

The Seahawks jumped on the Scots early, racing out to a 24-9 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. Things didn't get any better for the Fighting Scots in the second period, as Salve outscored them 15-4 to take a commanding 39-13 lead at halftime. It was Gordon's lowest point total in half all season.

Gordon tried to claw its way back in the second half, but Salve had answers at every turn. The Seahawks had extended its lead to 31 by the end of the third, leaving Gordon's fourth quarter rally mute. The Fighting Scots did play their finest in the final minutes by scoring 18 in the fourth quarter, but it was too late to threaten their hosts.

Tori Scorpio (Cranston, R.I.) won the battle of the league's top freshmen, as she led all players with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Mary Eden (So. Kington, R.I.) was quiet in the scoring category, but dished out eight assists, while Kerri Beland (Attleboro, Mass.) came off the bench to score 12 points.

Salve seemingly could not miss for a long stretch in the game, shooting just under 50 percent in regulation. Gordon was just a hair under 25 percent for the game at 14 of 59.

Sarah Gibbs (Elizabethtown, Pa.) was the top Scot with a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). Alisha Henderson (Oregon City, Ore.) matched her classmate with 12 points off the bench. Sophie Linnell (Richmond, Va.) was Gordon's most efficient player for the second straight game, missing just one shot for eight points.

Gordon's bench scored just six points outside of Henderson's 12.

The quarterfinal round begins on Tuesday, Feb. 21. UNE will host No. 8 seed Gordon, which finished the year at 5-13 in the CCC (7-18 Overall), at 7 p.m. The second-seeded Hawks draw in-state rival and No. 7 seed Salve Regina in their quarterfinal matchup at 5:30 p.m. Salve finished the year at 8-10 CCC (10-15 Overall). No. 6 seed Curry, which also went 8 -10 CCC (10-15 Overall) will visit WNE at 7 p.m. Endicott will face off against No. 5 seed Eastern Nazarene, which comes into the tournament at 10-8 CCC (17-8 Overall), at 6 p.m.

Though Curry and Salve Regina both finished the regular season with 8-10 conference records, the Colonels were awarded the higher seed based on the conference's tiebreaking procedure. The Colonels defeated the Seahawks in both head-to-head meetings this year, earning them the fifth seed.

The winners of the quarterfinal games will meet in the semifinal round on Thursday, Feb. 23. The winner of the UNE-Gordon game will play the winner of Endicott-Eastern Nazarene game and the Roger Williams-Salve Regina winner will play the Western New England-Curry winner. Game times will be determined following the quarterfinal round.

The two semifinal winners earn a trip to the CCC Women's Basketball Championship which takes place on Saturday, Feb. 25. The CCC Tournament Champion will receive the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.

Tournament Schedule
(Games hosted by the higher seed)

Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Feb. 21

#8 Gordon at #1 University of New England, 7 p.m.
#7 Salve Regina at #2 Roger Williams, 5:30 p.m.
#6 Curry at #3 Western New England, 7 p.m.
#5 Eastern Nazarene at #4 Endicott, 6 p.m.

Semifinals – Thursday, Feb. 23

#1/8 winner vs. #4/5 winner, TBA
#2/7 winner vs. #3/6 winner, TBA

Finals – Saturday, Feb. 25

Semifinal winners at higher seed, TBA