BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team looks ahead to its 2013-14 season. The Gulls are coming off a 2012-13 season where they finished with a 16-12 overall record, while advancing to the CCC semifinals. The team completed their conference play at 11-7 and after losing in the conference tournament they advanced to the ECAC tournament where they lost to Suffolk in the quarterfinals by a slim margin of two points. At the close of the season two Gulls received all conference-honors. The team also produced a member of the Capital One COSIDA Academic All-District First Team. The Blue and Green look forward to taking the court and competing for a conference championship.
To get prepared for the season ahead the Gulls will head to Keene State for a two day tournament where they will face MCLA, Green Mountain College and Keene State. Endicott has a 3-0 record against MCLA and is 1-3 against Green Mountain. They have yet to defeat the Owls in their four meetings.
When they return home they only have a few days before they hit the road again as they play Bowdoin College on November 19th. This will be the first meeting between the two squads since 2005. This strong out of conference matchup should be a great way to get the team equipped for their upcoming conference opponents. Endicott will host North Shore Rival Salem State for their home opener on November 21st. This will mark the 10th time the two squads have met, the Gulls have lost two out of their three last meetings. These two contests should be a great base for the squad as they face a lengthy and competitive schedule ahead.
Before the winter break the Blue and Green will play three games in which two of them will begin their first round of conference matchups. On December 4th they will travel across town to compete against rival Gordon College. The Gulls have won the last 12 meetings against the Fighting Scots and look to continue that stretch. Two days later they will play host to Eastern Nazarene where the Gulls lead the Lions 14-4 in their all-time results. To wrap things up before the Holidays Endicott will face out of conference opponent Emmanuel who defeated the Gulls last season 65-62.
Upon their return the Blue and Green will travel to MIT on December 29th to play the last game of 2013. Last year Endicott came out with a win against the Engineers by a slim margin. Following the contest the road ahead for the Gulls is full of CCC competition.
The month of January holds a busy schedule for the Gulls as they play 10 games in 21 days. The first game of the New Year will be on January 4th as the Gulls play host to reining CCC champions, University of New England who ousted the Gulls from the CCC tournament last year. Endicott lost to the Nor'easters three times in the 2012-13 season and look to come out on top in 2014. Three days later the Blue and Green will host Salve Regina. The squads split in their two meetings last season while the Seahawks advanced to the CCC championship.
January will end with contests against Suffolk and a second round with Eastern Nazarene. Historically the Gulls match up well with the Rams with a 15-9 overall series record. Last year Endicott beat Suffolk in the regular season, but the Rams got revenge come February when they ousted the Gulls in the ECAC tournament.
The month of February holds seven games, all of them being conference opponents. The will travel to Biddeford, Maine to face the Nor'easters on their home territory on February 1st. The last three home games of the regular season will come from Roger Williams, Curry and Wentworth. The Blue and Green will end their regular season push in Golden Bears Territory at Western New England on February 22nd. The Gulls and the Golden Bears met twice last season where they each tallied a win.
With an aggressive and challenging schedule the Gulls are sure to be prepared for the post season and make a statement in the CCC. The first round of the CCC tournament is slotted for February 25th, the semifinals are set for the 27th and the championship title will be crowned on March 1st.
