HILTON HEAD, S.C. – The Connecticut College women's lacrosse team closed out action in Hilton Head, cruising past the University of New England 17-6 on Wednesday afternoon. With the win, Conn improves to 5-2, while UNE falls to 2-5.

Conn opened the scoring just a minute and a half into the contest, as Campbell Johnston (Duxbury, Mass.) connected with Kate Coughlin (Reading, Mass.) who made it 1-0. UNE answered three minutes later on a free-position goal from Morgan White. Conn ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to lead 7-1 after one. During the, the Camels had five different goal scorers, as Elizabeth Gill (Hingham, Mass.) scored twice, with Greta Panek (Milldale, Conn.), Emma Ognibene (New Canaan, Conn.), and Suzie Smith (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), and Coughlin all added one goal.

Johnston pushed the lead to 8-1 at 11:51, before back-to-back goals from Aine Downey (Brookline, Mass.) and Gill put Conn in front 10-1. The Nor'easters ended the run with a tally from Emma Collingwood at 8:20. Smith answered off an assist from Johnston, before a late tally from UNE had the Camels in front 11-3 at the break.

Conn opened the second half with a 3-0, extending the lead to 14-3. Downey scored twice during the run, while Hannah Prescott (North Attleboro, Mass.) tallied a man-up marker. Barrie Guertin answered with a free-position goal, before Johnston fed Coughlin to put the Camels in front 15-4 heading to the fourth.

In the final frame, the teams each scored two goals. Guertin tallied another goal for UNE, before Ava Gershon (Cranston, R.I.) answered for Conn. The Nor'easters added one more goal, but Smith completed her hat trick with six minutes left, as the Camels earned the 17-6 win.

Conn outshot Eastern 36-13, while holding a 16-11 edge on draw controls.

Ava Virga (Watertown, N.Y.) picked up her fourth straight win in the cage, finishing with three saves. Johnston paced the Camels with six points on one goal and a career-high five assists. Coughlin chipped in five points on three goals and two assists, while both Downey and Gill added three goals and one assist. Smith tallied a hat trick, with Panke and Ognibene each recording a goal and an assist. Gershon and Prescott rounded out the goalscorers, with Maddie Bazinet (North Grafton, Mass.) notching her first career point with an assist.

Defensively, Conn forced 13 turnovers, with Brogan Holbrough (Rochester, N.Y.) forcing four and Anna Sawyer (Easthampton, Mass.) causing three. Eliza Shamah (Acton, Mass.) scooped up a team-high five ground balls, while Sydney Weber (Hanover, Mass.) led the way with six draw controls.

Jenna Trafford got the start in goal, recording nine saves. Guertin paced UNE with three goals, while five other Nor'easters tallied at least one point.

Conn returns to action on Saturday as the Camels travel to Middlebury, Vt. to take on No. 1 Middlebury at 12:00 p.m.