MILTON, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team traveled to Curry on Saturday afternoon for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup. Despite the game high 16 points from junior Nicole Catizone (Woburn, Mass.) the Gulls fell to the Colonels in a tight 46-42 final. Endicott drops to 10-12 (6-9 CCC) while Curry improves to 14-9 (11-5).
Endicott will take the court next on Tuesday, February 17th as they travel to CCC opponent Wentworth for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. The Colonels will also hit the court next on Tuesday as they travel to the CCC leader, University of New England for a 5:30 p.m. start.
Overall Catizone led both sides in scoring with her 16 points while senior Kylie Beltz (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) led the Colonels with her 13 points and six boards. Curry led from the field shooting 40.4% to Endicott's 33.3%, however with huge efforts from Catizone from long-range the Gulls stayed in the game shooting 22.7% to Curry's 7.7%. Both sides struggled from the free throw line shooting in the low 50% mark.
The Colonels crashed the boards with 34 total to the Gulls 29 rebounds which helped lead to the 12 second chance points for Curry. Endicott's offense put up some key baskets throughout the game to battle back but despite the seven lead changes the Colonels were able to close it out in the final minutes of regulation.
The first half was an absolute battle as both sides fought bucket for bucket with the Blue and Green taking a 26-23 advantage led by 11 points from Catizone who went 3-of-4 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. The Colonels led from the field shooting 42.3% overall to Endicott's 40.9%, but the Gulls controlled long range shooting 3-of-8 while holding Curry to zero. With some work from the offense, the Blue and Green shot 50% (5-of-10) from the charity stripe while Curry only made it to the line once. Cuddy followed closely behind Catizone with seven points while producing an impressive four steals.
In the second half both Catizone and Cuddy recorded five points but Beltz picked up her game from the first half leading both sides with seven points. The Curry rebound leader, senior Samantha Corcoran (Hampton, N.H.) led the half with seven boards and one block. For Endicott both Catizone and Cuddy led with four a piece.
Both sides scored an even 14.3% from long range while Curry controlled the overall field putting up 38.1% to the Gulls 26.1%. The Colonels outscored the Blue and Green 23-16 in the half which led to the eventual 46-42 victory.
With the loss Endicott drops their second game of the season to the Colonels and will look to pick their game back up on Tuesday night at Wentworth. The Gulls last saw the Leopards back on January 20th where they soared to a 59-53 victory.
