BEVERLY, Mass. – The fourth-seeded Endicott women's basketball team led a balanced scoring attack en route to a 92-56 defeat of visiting fifth-seeded Elms College Wednesday night in first round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), highlighted by senior guard Kelsey Cuddy's (Madison, Conn.) game-high 21 points and junior forward Sarah Hood's (Burlington, Mass.) double-double.
Hood's double-double came by way of 15 points and a tied for a game-high with 11 rebounds.
Endicott broke an early 4-4 tie to go on a 7-0 run and led 26-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The Blazers went on a 6-0 run to open the second quarter with back-to-back jumpers from sophomore guard Mackenzie LaRochelle (Chicopee, Mass.), but ten points from Cuddy in the quarter and 16 in the first half pushed Endicott's advantage to 44-30 at the break.
The third quarter saw continue to pour it on with their second 26-point quarter of the night as Endicott was up 70-47 as the fourth quarter began.
The Gulls led by as much as 37 with 1:21 remaining in the game and closed it out to advance to Saturday's ECAC Semifinal matchup with No. 1 Keene St. College.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls placed five in double figures, as sophomore forward Hannah Shaw (Bar Harbor, Maine) chipped in 16 points, sophomore guard Hannah Kiernan (Wenham, Mass.) added 14, and sophomore guard Gabriella Coppola (Watertown, Mass.) scored 10 points to join Cuddy and Hood in double digits.
- Hood recorded her second double-double of the season as she tied her career-high with 11 boards.
- 92 points was the team's second-highest total this season (94 against Maine Presque-Isle on 11/15/15.)
- Endicott tied its season-high with 37 made field goals and 25 assists.
- The Gulls, playing in their final home game of the 2015-16 season, made their 11th overall appearance in the ECAC tournament in program history and first since the team celebrated its first ECAC Championship in 2014 with a 79-76 win over Smith College on March 9, 2014.
FOR THE FOES
- The Blazers made their first-ever ECAC postseason appearance tonight.
- Senior forward JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) paced the Blazers with a team-high 15 points.
- Freshman forward Nakia Mabin (Bridgeport, Conn.) and junior guard Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) joined Pickett in double figures with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.
- Junior forward Alexandra Marques (Newington, Conn.) grabbed 11 rebounds (tied for a game-high).
NOTES
- Endicott is 2-0 all-time against Elms, as the Gulls defeated the Blazers, 79-46, in the previous meeting during the 1999-00 season.
- Endicott fell, 60-56, to Keene St. in the Gulls' home opener on 11/24/15 earlier this season.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 4 Endicott (17-11) will face top-seeded Keene St. in the ECAC Semifinals on Saturday, March 5 at 1:00 p.m. on the campus of Western New England University. No. 5 Elms (15-13) sees its season come to an end. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
ECAC DIVISION III NEW ENGLAND BRACKET
First Round – Wednesday, March 5 at Endicott College
#4 Endicott 92 vs. #5 Elms 56
Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 at Western New England University
Semifinal #1: No. 1 Keene State vs. No. 4 Endicott – 1:00 p.m.
Semifinal #2: No. 3 Suffolk vs. No. 2 Western New England – 3:00 p.m.
Championship – Sunday, March 6 at Western New England
Winner Semifinal #1 vs. Winner Semifinal #2 – 1:00 p.m.