Gulls Drop 53-49 Nail-Biter At Curry

BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott women's basketball team ended up on the wrong side of a 53-49 nail-biter at Curry College in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Wednesday night inside Katz Gymnasium.

In Round Two of the regular-season series, the Gulls and Colonels battled it out on the hardwood with Curry coming away with the narrow margin of victory this time around.

The Gulls led 17-10 after one quarter of play, but then it was neck-and-neck the rest of the way with seven ties and nine lead changes as Endicott clung to a 26-24 advantage at the break.

Junior center Nicole Rice's (Woburn, Mass.) layup with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter gave the Colonels a lead (32-30) they wouldn't relinquish down the stretch despite a trio of knotted scores.

A final 49-49 tie at the 1:03 mark swung in favor of Curry as four straight points enabled the hosts to snap a three-game losing skid as the buzzer sounded.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls placed four student-athletes in double figures as senior forward Sarah Hood (Burlington, Mass.) earned her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
• Freshman guard Kaleigh Putnam (Wallingford, Conn.) matched Hood with a team-best 11 points for a new career-high to go alongside a personal-best seven rebounds, two assists, and one block, while junior guard Gabriella Coppola (Watertown, Mass.) and junior guard Hannah Kiernan (Wenham, Mass.) tallied 10 points apiece.
• Kiernan matched her career-best with eight rebounds.
• The Gulls attempted a season-low six free throws (3-for-6).
• Endicott led by as much as 10 points with 1:38 left in the opening quarter.

FOR THE FOES

• The Colonels' largest lead of the night was seven points with 7:14 remaining in the game.
• Sophomore guard/forward Molly Plunkett (Quincy, Mass.) scored a game-high 16 points, while sophomore guard Emily Irwin (Billerica, Mass.) notched a double-double as she poured in 15 points to go with a team-leading 10 boards.
• Rice rounded out the Colonels in double figures with 11 points.

NOTES

• Endicott and Curry met the 31st time in program history tonight as the Gulls still lead the all-time series, 24-7, dating back prior to the 2002 season.
• Endicott is now 10-6 on the road at Curry in the all-time series.
• Team teams earned a regular-season split as Endicott defeated Curry, 55-54, in the most recent meeting before today on 11/30/16.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (8-10, 7-4 CCC) travels to Boston, Mass. to take on Wentworth in CCC play on Saturday, January 28 at 1:00 p.m.

Curry (5-13, 4-7 CCC) goes on the road at Salve Regina on Saturday, January 28 at 1:00 p.m.

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