BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team hosted Nichols on Wednesday evening for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup. Despite freshman Hannah Shaw (Bar Harbor, Maine) tying the programs all-time record in points in a single game (31), Nichols pulled out the 81-73 overtime victory to mark their first since 2009. Endicott falls to 10-11 (6-8 CCC) while the Bison improve to 6-16 (3-12 CCC).
Endicott will take the court next on Saturday, February 14th as they travel to Curry for a CCC showdown at 1:00 p.m. The Bison will also tip-off next on Saturday as they travel to CCC top opponent University of New England at 1:00 p.m.
Overall both sides played a strong game, but Nichols was able to lead in all scoring categories shooting an impressive 50% from the field followed by 45.5% from long-range and 62.9% from the charity stripe. The Blue and Green went 42.9% from the field and struggled from both long-range (22.7%) and the free throw line (38.1%). Shaw did lead a game high 31 points while recording her third double-double of the season with a game high 11 rebounds and six steals. For the Bison senior Amber Litwinko (Berlin, Conn.) followed with 20 points and 10 rebounds while senior Alexis Wegrzynek (Wilbraham, Mass.) posted 13 points and 11 rebounds to give both a double-double effort as well.
Despite their struggles from the field, the Gulls worked hard on defense as both Shaw and junior Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) recorded six steals which helped the Gulls capitalize on their 23 points off turnovers while the seven offensive rebounds by Shaw helped give Endicott 19 second chance points. The Bison finished the night with an impressive 19 bench points while four different members scored in double digits.
In the first half both sides battled for the 20 minutes of play as Nichols just edged the Gulls from the field 50% to 46.2%. The hungry Bison did rally from long-range hitting 4-of-8 led by 2-of-5 from freshman Brooke Packard (Dudley, Mass.). Litwinko and Shaw each tallied 13 points to lead the half as Shaw went an impressive 6-of-8 from the field while Litwinko went 5-of-8 and perfect in all attempts from the free-throw line and beyond the arc.
Cuddy posted a strong defensive game in the half claiming five steals and three boards while Litwinko and Wegrzynek each recorded three steals.
In the second half Endicott posted a stronger shooting game putting up 41.9% from the field, led by 6-of-9 from Shaw while the Bison led with 47.8%. Both sides went 33.9% from three-point range while Nichols controlled the charity stripe shooting 7-of-15.
Shaw led both sides in the half with 12 points while Cuddy followed with 10. Senior Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) posted six boards for the Gulls while Litwinko and Wegrzynek also followed with six rebounds for Nichols.
Endicott worked to get back battling in the final minutes with some huge buckets from Shaw on second chance opportunities. With seconds on the clock the Blue and Green were down by one but senior Katelyn Wright (Sudbury, Mass.) stepped up big again making a clutch layup as time expired to force an overtime period for the second time this season.
In overtime the Bison were all over the court making some key shots as they outscored the Gulls 19-11 which led to the 81-73 final.
