CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Endicott women's basketball team took the court on Sunday afternoon as they traveled to MIT to play their last game before the New Year. Sophomore Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) led the team with 14 points followed by senior Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) with 11 in the 49-38 victory. The Gulls move to 6-2 (2-0 CCC) while MIT falls to 5-4 (2-2 NEWMAC).
The first half was a battle between the two sides with the Blue and Green holding the lead for most of the frame. However the Engineers did not steer far away as they kept within five points for the entire half. Senior Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) led both sides in points with 10 followed by Cuddy with seven.
The entire frame was a scoring competition as each side worked hard to answer back after every possession. Despite Endicott shooting 37.9% from the field the Engineers worked hard off the boards earning 20 rebounds, five being offensive to stay close on the scoreboard.
Working hard in the paint to earn rebounds in the Blue and Green's favor seniors White and Julie Manning (Hull, Mass.) each came out with our rebounds apiece. With 11 minutes remaining in the half Crough worked hard inside the arc posting three consecutive jumpers to give Endicott a 15-12 lead.
Following in her stead Cuddy, Manning White and junior Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) finished the half strong earning points to lead the Engineers 23-20 to enter halftime.
The second half showed a bit more control by the Gulls as they outscored the Engineers 26-18 which was led by White who tabbed nine points in the half. In the opening minutes the Gulls turned up their game and created a nine point rally which the Engineers struggled to answer back with effort from Cuddy who tallied seven points in the scoring spree.
With efforts from sophomore Mari Kordell (Ijamsville, Md.) MIT got back in the game cutting the lead to 12 with 10 minutes remaining in the game. However the Gulls would not let up as they continued to hold their lead for the remainder of the half. Whall and White each tallied big points in the final 10 minutes to keep the scoreboard in Endicott's favor as the Blue and Green came out with the victory.
The second half saw an Endicott team that shot 37.5% from close range whole taking advantage of the 10 fouls by the Engineers to shoot 8-12 from the free throw line that has become the Gulls best friend this season.
Overall Endicott took advantage of the Engineer's 20 turnovers by earning 15 points while gaining 10 second chance points. The Gulls worked hard on defense only allowing MIT to get to the free throw line once throughout the game.
The Gulls will head home to celebrate the New Year and take the court again on Saturday, January 4th as they take on the reigning Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) champions the University of New England in Gulls territory at 1:00 p.m. MIT will also see action on the 4th as they travel to Wellesley for a conference matchup at 1:00 p.m.
