BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Endicott women's basketball team traveled to Bowdoin on Tuesday evening for an out of conference matchup. Senior Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) and sophomore Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) each tallied 15 points and four rebounds in the tough 56-67 loss. The Gulls fall to 2-1 on the season while the Polar Bears stand at 2-0.
The first half was a battle as both sides took turns at holding the lead. With about seven minutes remaining in the half the Polar Bears started to jump the lead after scoring four answered baskets. The Blue and Green would not take the lead likely as they came back in the final minutes scoring nine unanswered points.
Senior Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) started the rally after she hit a big three pointer to get the Gulls back within eight. One minute later Crough tallied two more points with a quick jumper to make it a 22-28 game. Less than 10 seconds later back in Polar Bears possession, Cuddy made an impressive steal but could not hold on to it as she committed a foul and a turnover.
With two minutes remaining on the clock freshman Lauren Iadarola (Tyngsboro, Mass.) came in off the bench and made a quick layup to get within four. In the final seconds of the half Crough made a jumper inside the arch to sneak within two points to enter halftime.
The second half was similar to the first as it was a tight scoring half. In the opening minutes senior Julie Manning (Hull, Mass.) tied up the game at 33 apiece. However the tie would not last for long as it would be the closest the Blue and Green would get to the Polar Bears for the rest of the half. After the tying point, Bowdoin lit up the court as they scored 16 unanswered points, eight of them being from sophomore Shannon Brady (Scituate, Mass.) and six coming from senior Kristen Prue (Auburn, Maine).
Junior Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) broke the ice for the Gulls as she scored the first bucket since the lull, and then earned a foul and got another two on the board from the free throw line. Whall sent a spark through the Blue and Green that hit Cuddy as she came up with nine consecutive points, five of them going unanswered.
With three trips to the line from Crough and Whall the Gulls got back in the game within nine with four minutes remaining, but they would not be enough as the Polar Bears did not let Endicott score for the remainder of the game to take the victory.
Crough tallied 11 points in the first half, while Cuddy earned 13 in the second to keep the Gulls within reach. Endicott kept its trend of taking advantage of their trips to the line be shooting 82.4% in free throws, while hanging tight in the 30% area in field goals. The Blue and Green worked hard off the boards as they created nine second chance points, while also looking to their strong bench who gave 16 points.
Endicott will look forward to Thursday, November 21st as they celebrate their home opener in an out of conference matchup against cross-town rival Salem State at 7:00 p.m. While the Polar Bears start their conference matchups as they host Bates on Saturday the 23rd at 2:00 p.m.
