DUDLEY, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team traveled to Nichols on Wednesday evening for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup. After a double-double effort from senior Jennifer White and big points from junior Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) and sophomore Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) to Gulls handed the Bison their ninth conference loss in the 70-57 victory after a second half surge. Endicott improves to 16-6, (11-4 CCC) while Nichols falls to 11-11, (6-9 CCC).
The first half was a rough one for the Gulls as they trailed for 13:26 minutes but with huge efforts from Whall who nabbed 14 points in the first half alone , the Blue and Green were able to take control in the final minutes to take a one point lead entering halftime.
In the opening minutes the Bison took control by holding Endicott to zero points for over six minutes while taking the 6-13 lead by the 10:04 mark. Luckily the Gulls played tough defense and also held Nichols to zero points for almost three minutes to help stay close on the scoreboard. After a couple good points from the charity mark by Whall the Blue and Green went all out for the remaining 10 minutes of play.
Alongside Whall, Cuddy worked hard offensively nailing a few jumpers of her own to help creep back up to the Bison on the score sheet. After a couple buckets from Whall and White the Gulls were back within one with just under four minutes remaining in the first half.
Senior Devon Spirka (Wilmington, Vt.) would not let Nichols end the half quietly as she nailed a trey at 3:23 to take a three point lead. Whall however had a different agenda as she pushed her way through to tie the game back up at 26 apiece. White then followed by going 2-2 from the free throw line to take the two point lead as the Gulls ended the half on top 29-28.
The Blue and Green picked up their game in all categories in the second half shooting 48.3% from the field, 60% from long range and 76.9% from the charity mark. Thanks to a team morale boost from Whall's efforts in the first half the Gulls lit up the scoreboard in the second. Cuddy stacked the stat sheet with 11 points, two assists and three steals while White showed impressive play who finished the half with eight points and six rebounds to go towards her double-double effort.
Also doing their part were seniors Julie Manning (Hull, Mass.) and Sarah Robinson (Norwich, Vt.) who also posted eight points apiece and combined for six rebounds. Robinson opened up the second half with back to back treys that gave the Gulls the small cushion lead for the remainder of the game.
Overall Endicott came together as one unit and pushed to the finish after trailing by as much as eight throughout the entire first half then leading by 19 at the most in the second. The lead changed seven times in the contest and the Gulls finished strong in pure Endicott fashion. White finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds followed by Whall and Cuddy who earned 16 points apiece while Cuddy also added five steals.
Endicott will take the court next on Saturday February 15th at 1:00 p.m. when they host CCC opponent Curry for their second meeting on the season. When the two last met in January the Gulls came out on top 74-58 in Colonels territory.
