Women’s Basketball’s Win Streak Halted by Brandeis

WALTHAM, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday night, falling 59-48 at Brandeis after winning five straight games to open the 2012-13 campaign.

Junior Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.), had her first double-double of the season for Endicott (5-1), leading all players with 16 points and ten rebounds.

Brandeis (4-4) seized control of the game in the second half, in which they shot 46% from the field, while Endicott shot just under 30% for the game, though they did make 7 three-pointers.

After a low-scoring and tightly contested first half, the Judges were able to open the second half with an 8-2 run, but the Gulls answered with seven straight points, five of them by Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) to tie the game at 28, though a bucket by Brandeis's Samantha Mancinelli (Durham, Conn.) would give the hosts the lead for good with over 15 minutes left to play.

Brandeis opened their lead up to nine points, thanks in part to senior Erika Higginbottom (Millbury, Mass.), who had nine points herself, all of them in the second half.

Overall it was a balanced scoring attack from Brandeis, who had seven players with five or more points. Endicott was able to keep the game within reach thanks to timely three-pointers, of which they were 4-9 in the second half.  

Junior Sam Crough (Cohasset, Mass.), who had been held in check all night, hit a trey under the six-minute mark to bring the Gulls to within six points, at 50-44, but the teams stayed at that score for over four minutes, with Endicott unable to capitalize on several steals.

It wasn't until there were under two minutes remaining that the teams found their offense again, and Brandeis took care of business down the stretch, with Higginbottom and Hannah Cain (Gloucester, Mass.) combining to make nine consecutive free throws.

Cain led Brandeis with 11 points, while junior Kasey Dean (Southbury, Conn.) had ten points and four steals.

Both teams shots 63% from the free-throw line, though Endicott took just 11 attempts to 19 by the hosts.

Endicott senior guard Jen McBrien (Medfield, Mass.) had four points and eight rebounds and led all players with six assists. Sophomore Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) pitched in with eight points, while Crough and McKenzie Farquharson (West Haven, Conn.) had five points apiece.

The Gulls came out cold through the first seven minutes, scoring just one basket before White hit a three-pointer to make the game 10-5 in favor of the Judges. Then it was Brandeis's turn to stumble, as they were held without a field goal for the next eight and a half minutes, while White and the Gulls steadily went to work.

A second three-pointer by White gave Endicott their first lead of the game at 13-11 with 7 minutes left in the first half. The next basket by either team, over two minutes later, was another three-pointer by White, though the Gulls were unable to really take advantage of Brandeis's dry spell.

Cain hit a three-pointer and the Judges ended the first half on a 7-1 run, capped by a layup by Nicolina Vitale (Clinton Township, Mich.) with under a minute left to help Brandeis take a 20-19 lead into the break.

Dean led the Judges in the first with six points, and then had two buckets in the opening minutes of the second. White had 11 points by halftime on 4-7 shooting, including 3-5 from the three-point line.

The teams combined for 18 turnovers through the first half of play, 10 of them by the Gulls.

Through the first half rebounds were even at 23 apiece, and Brandeis ended up edging Endicott on the boards by a 43-41 margin, led by seven boards apiece by Higginbottom and Samantha Anderson (Johnsonville, N.Y.).

Endicott got eight boards from Julie Manning (Hull, Mass.), four each on the offensive and defensive ends.

The Gulls will continue their two-game road trip with a game at Suffolk University on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm.

Brandeis will take on another Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe at the same time, as they will host Roger Williams.