Women's Basketball Breezes Past Hartford, 59-37

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The Endicott women's basketball team topped Hartford, 59-37, in Saturday afternoon's Conference of New England (CNE) bout from Chase Family Arena.

Libby Fleming (Bangor, Maine) led all scorers with 15 points (6-10 FG) and nine rebounds. Sofia Mazzotta (Billerica, Mass.) accompanied her as the only other student-athlete in double-figures, as she posted 10 points (4-8 FG) and nine rebounds on the afternoon.

Emma Shinney (Wakefield, Mass.) stuffed the stat sheet with a nine-point, 10-rebound, and five-assist effort, while Tenley Wallin (Danbury, Conn.) chipped in with nine points, five boards, and three assists.

The Gulls leapt out to a quick 9-2 start over the opening 4:57, thanks to early buckets from Sarah Dempsey (Windham, N.H.), Fleming, and Mazzotta.

Hartford responded by limiting the Gulls to just two more buckets for the remainder of the first quarter, inching their way back into the matchup (13-10 at the end of the first quarter).

Early on in the second, the Hawks took a brief 17-16 advantage, but the Gulls' offense awoke for a 10-2 spurt, reclaiming a 26-19 lead with 2:41 left to play in the half. Fleming, Dempsey, and Shinney led the charge in the burst.

Heading into the second half up 28-22, the Gulls opened up on a 14-9 run in the first 8:13 to stretch their lead to 42-31. Katelyn Konareski (Milford, Conn.) drained a corner triple off of Shinney's dime to highlight the game-defining stretch. Three more Fleming points (jumper and free throw) built the Gulls a 45-31 lead heading into the final stanza.

In the fourth, the Blue and Green outscored the Hawks 14-6 to close out the road win.  

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls advance to 4-0 all-time against the Hawks.
• Shinney is averaging 16.3 points in her four career matchups against the Hawks.
• Endicott currently sits in the second seed of the CNE standings with two games remaining (one game back of first place Western New England).
• Mazzotta's 10 rebounds are a career high.
• Endicott led for 93.4% of the contest (37:21).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (18-5, 14-2 CNE) welcomes Roger Williams to The Nest on Wednesday, February 19 in a 7:30 PM CNE matchup. Hartford (9-14, 7-9 CNE) welcomes Suffolk to its campus on Wednesday in a 5:30 PM CNE contest. 

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

(Photo Credit - Kaeli Talora '25)