Gulls Surge Past Lions with Strong Second Half

QUINCY, Mass. – Endicott overcame a two-point halftime deficit to defeat Eastern Nazarene 59-49 on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's basketball action at Lahue Gymnasium.

Junior Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) was 7-13 from the field in the scoring half, scoring 18 of her game-high twenty points as Endicott improved to 11-5 overall, with a 7-2 conference record.

The Lions fall to 8-7 on the season and see their CCC record dip below .500, at 4-5.

Endicott sophomore Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) collected her second career double-double and her first of the season, by scoring twelve points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Whall, who was 2-4 from behind the three-point line, also pitched in with a steal and two assists.

Sarah Robinson (Norwich, Vt.) had a career high six assists, while also scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds in her second start of the year.

Crough got in double figures by breaking a 40-40 tie with a jumper off of the window, then gave Endicott a four point advantage with a shot from the elbow with 11 minutes left.

The Gulls would not trail for the rest of the game, with Crough continuing her hot shooting by sinking a three-pointer and a baseline jumper during a 13-5 run in the second half, a period in which the Gulls were 10-25 (40%) from the field.

Eastern Nazarene, led by 11 points and six assists by junior Presley Neufeld (Seattle, Wash.) managed to shoot just 21% in the second half after hitting 13-29 (44.8%) from the floor in a tight first half where the largest lead for either team was six points.

Endicott junior Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) led all players with 11 rebounds, but was held to three points in each half by the Eastern Nazarene defense.

With nine lead changes and three ties, the game was a back and forth affair. Both teams did a good job of taking care of the basketball, though Eastern Nazarene committed six of their 12 turnovers in the first 3:15 of the second half. Endicott was opportunistic with the Lion's miscues, holding a 14-0 edge in points off of turnovers.   

Endicott freshman Nicole Catizone (Woburn, Mass.) scored the first points of her collegiate career with a three-pointer in the first half. Catizone finished the game with three assists and a rebound to go with her three points.

Four different players for each team made three-pointers in the first half. Whall was the only player to hit more than once from outside the arc and her second trifecta gave Endicott a 22-21 lead with just under four minutes before the break.

ENC senior guard Ace Carradine (Honolulu, Hawaii) answered with a three-pointer with thirty seconds left in the first half to give Eastern Nazarene a 31-29 lead at the break. Carradine finished with seven points, while Mel green (Annapolis, Md.) and Christina Saint-Pierre (Lantana, Fla.) added eight points apiece off the bench, with Saint-Pierre grabbing two steals.

Endicott will begin their second rotation through their CCC schedule on Wednesday when they travel to Salve Regina for a 5:30 pm game. The Gulls defeated the Seahawks 59-57 in their conference opener on November 28^th.

The Lions will play a rare non-conference game on Monday when they travel to Maine Presque Isle for a 12:00 pm Martin Luther King Day matinee.