BIDDEFORD, Maine — The third-seeded Endicott women's basketball team defeated second-seeded University of New England (UNE), 65-53, on Thursday night in the CCC Tournament semifinals.
Sarah Dempsey (Windham, N.H.) paced all scorers with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals.
Tara Laugeni (Woodbridge, Conn.) and Emily St. Thomas (Sterling, Mass.) also registered 15-7 and 13-8 (PTS/RBS), respectively, to highlight the Gulls' offense.
After falling behind 8-0 early on in the first quarter (6:38, UNE's largest lead), Endicott regained its composure and outscored UNE 11-4 to close out the opening 10 minutes of play (12-11).
Libby Fleming (Bangor, Maine) fueled the run with five points, which included a three-pointer with 12-seconds to go in the quarter, while St. Thomas (3), Laugeni (2), and Olivia Duncan (Essex Junction, Vt.) factored into the offensive spurt as well.
From there, UNE responded by taking an eventual 16-14 lead with 7:08 to play in the half, but Endicott delivered the bigger blow via a 15-5 run to take a 29-21 advantage into the break and never looked back.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter (5:16).
- Katelyn Konareski (Milford, Conn.), Lexi Gellerman (West Hartford, Conn.), Dempsey, Duncan, and St. Thomas all contributed to Endicott's 15-5 second quarter run with 3-2-4-2-4 points, respectively.
- The Nor'easters never brought the game under a seven point deficit in the second half (33-26, 8:00, 3rd).
- The Gulls ended UNE's nine-game winning streak and perfect record in February (8-0 previously).
- Endicott was the last team to defeat the Nor'easters before starting their torrid run (55-43, 1/25/22).
- UNE suffered its first loss at home tonight since its setback against the Gulls on 1/25/22 (6-0 prior).
- Endicott improved to 9-4 on the road this season.
- Tonight's game only featured two ties and two lead changes.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (17-10) will clash with first-seeded and No. 22 nationally ranked Roger Williams (24-2) this Saturday in Bristol, R.I. at 2 PM. UNE's season comes to a close at 18-9 overall.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
