BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team hosted Wentworth on Tuesday evening for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) showdown. Following a 12 point effort from senior Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) and freshman Hannah Shaw's (Bar Harbor, Maine) second career double-double with her 11 points and 10 rebounds the Gulls edged the Leopards 59-53 to garner their first home victory of 2015. Endicott improves to 7-9 (3-6 CCC) while Wentworth falls to 4-12 (2-7 CCC).
Endicott will take the court next on Saturday, December 24th as they look to avenge their December loss to CCC foe Eastern Nazarene for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off at MacDonald Gymnasium. The Leopards will also play host on Saturday with a matchup with CCC opponent Curry at 1:00 p.m.
Highlighted by three Gulls in double figures and a 22-5 run in the final six minutes of the first half Endicott snapped their home losing streak in 2015 with the triumph. Overall the Blue and Green boasted a 39% shooting from the field and a 63% mark from the charity stripe. However the Leopards fought back by also posting an impressive 40% mark from the field led by a 22 points effort from junior Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) who went 9-of-14 from close range. Following close behind Rogers was 17 points from freshman Riselly Deoleo (Manchester, N.H.).
The CCC field goal percentage leader, rookie Sam Charette (Wenham, Mass.) posted an impressive 4-of-5 shooting from the field followed by fellow rookie, Shaw who went 4-of-6 coming in off the bench. On the free throw line, Whall posted her best game of 2015 going 5-of-6 while junior Nicole Catizone (Woburn, Mass.) also posted impressive numbers with her 7-of-8.
Defensively senior Katelyn Wright (Sudbury, Mass.) posted a career high five steals to go along with her five assists and seven points. For the Leopards both Rogers and Deoleo played strong defensive games with three steals apiece and nine rebounds from Rogers. By the end of the contest Endicott took advantage of the 17 Leopard turnovers by scoring 25 points off turnovers and earning eight fast break points. The Gulls also crashed the boards with a total of 41 rebounds to Wentworth's 27.
In the first half the Gulls outscored the CCC foe, 38-28 led by eight points from Shaw while Wentworth's Rogers posted a high 14 point mark. With 6:25 remaining in the first half the Leopards held a 23-16 lead however the Blue and Green picked up their game scoring 16 unanswered points highlighted by three treys. By the end of the remaining 6:25 Endicott posted a 22-5 run to take the 10 point edge at the half.
The second half showed another strong battle as Wentworth just outshot the Gulls 25-21 led by nine points from Deoleo. Endicott worked to stay in the game and keep the lead with points from Whall and six rebounds from Shaw. Defensively Wright posted four of her five steals in the second half alone which helped lead to Endicott's 25 total points off turnovers.
With 4:26 remaining in regulation the Gulls outscored the Leopards 7-1 to take the final six point advantage for the victory.
