BOSTON, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team held off a late push by Wentworth Institute of Technology to secure a 55-45 road win in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Thursday night inside Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win, Endicott improved to 8-6 overall and 6-1 in the CCC, while Wentworth fell to 4-9 on the season and 1-6 in conference play.
Trailing 5-4 at the 5:27 mark, the Gulls used a 9-2 edge to lead 13-7 after the first quarter of play. Wentworth went on a 7-0 run of its own over the last three minutes before the break to inch closer, down 24-21 with 1:04 to go before heading into halftime with Endicott up, 26-21.
Over five and a half minutes elapsed in the third quarter before the Gulls got a bucket to fall as sophomore forward Hannah Shaw (Bar Harbor, Maine) poured in a layup at the 4:34 mark to end the Gulls' scoring drought and ignited a 12-0 run from that point until Wentworth made a free throw as the quarter expired.
The Gulls built a 15-point lead (38-23) with 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter as junior guard Ilyza Holman (Ashland, Mass.) sunk the second of her four three pointers on the night and Endicott held a 38-24 advantage as the teams entered the final 10 minutes of action.
Wentworth surged back in the fourth as senior guard Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) tallied 14 of her game-high 24 points in the quarter to help to erase some of the deficit. Camara's layup with 1:44 left brought the Leopards closer, down 46-39, before three sets of Endicott free throws down the stretch eventually put the game out of reach.
Shaw paced all Endicott scorers with 21 points to lead the Gulls in scoring for the third consecutive game.
BEYOND THE BOX
- The Gulls held the Leopards to three points in the third quarter for the lowest total allowed by the Endicott defense in a single quarter all season.
- Holman tied a career-high from three point land as she hit 4-of-8 to finish with 12 points off the bench.
- Shaw turned in back to back 20+ point games for the first time this season.
- Senior guard Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) scored her lowest point total of the season (six points all came in the first quarter), but pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds with a season-high eight assists along with four steals and three blocks.
- Senior forward Caity Lowry (Quincy, Mass.) brought down a career-high 12 rebounds.
- Endicott won the battle of the glass with 50 rebounds to the Leopards' 33.
FOR THE FOES
- Camara had a game-high 24 points on 6-of-18 from the field and 12-of-15 from the free throw line. Camara also grabbed nine rebounds in addition to dishing out three assists and causing two takeaways.
- Senior forward Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) chipped in nine points to go with seven rebounds, one assist, four steals and two blocks.
- The Leopards have lost five in a row.
NOTES
- Endicott is 23-3 all-time and 11-1 on the road at Wentworth dating back prior to the 2002 season.
- The Leopards won the most recent meeting before today, 44-41, in Boston, Mass. on Feb. 17, 2015.
- Endicott has won four of the past five head-to-head matchups.
WHAT'S NEXT
Both teams are back in action on Saturday, January 16 at 1:00 p.m. as the Gulls (8-6, 6-1 CCC) face cross-town rival Gordon at Gordon and Wentworth (4-9, 1-6 CCC) plays at Salve Regina. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.