Endicott 46, Wentworth 59: Gulls Drop Third Straight CCC Contest

BEVERLY, Mass. –  After two road defeats, the Endicott women's basketball team was looking to rebound when it returned home Tuesday evening to face a Wentworth team that it historically had great success against. However, the Leopards held Endicott to just 22% shooting and left MacDonald Gymnasium with a 59-46 victory in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action. 

Endicott (11-8, 7-5 CCC) dropped just their second game in 21 all-time meetings with the Leopards, who improved to 9-10 (4-8 CCC) and got their first win over the Gulls since 2006, a victory that also came in Beverly. 

Sam Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) led the Gulls with 14 points and 8 rebounds and Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) was also in double figures for Endicott with 11 points, but Endicott's reserves were outscored by the effort of Wentworth senior Jordan Biggar (Beverly, Mass.), who victimized the town she grew up by dropping 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds off of the Leopards' bench. 

Biggar was one of three players in double figures for the visitors, who shot 46% in the first half while jumping out to a ten-point halftime lead. 

Junior Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, five of them on the offensive glass. Kerr, who also had four steals in the game, had ten rebounds in the first half as the Leopards outrebounded Endicott 26-12 before the break. 

Wentworth starter Rachel Camara (Fall River, Mass.) tallied 14 points on 5-10 shooting and was 2-3 from deep range. 

The visitors raced out to a 6-0 lead, which they extended to ten points at 18-8. The Gulls climbed back to within three points on a three-pointer by Whall, but from there Endicott's deep shooting would go cold, as they shot 1-15 from downtown in the game, including missing all ten attempts in the second half. 

The Leopards shot 46.4% from the floor in the half, while holding Endicott to only 29.6%. Crough worked hard to keep the Gulls in reach by scoring eight points in the first half and Jen White (Lisbon, N.H.) picked up four of her impressive five steals in the game. 

Wentworth added to their advantage with a 12-4 run to start the half, opening up a game-high 18 point lead at 44-26 with 13:10 to play. 

Endicott responded with a 16-4 run of their own to pull within six points with just under four minutes remaining. That sequence was highlighted by the play of Julie Manning (Hull, Mass.), who grabbed three offensive rebounds on one play before converting a layup and getting fouled for a three-point play. Manning also added an assist and a steal during that sequence and had five points and four rebounds in the game. 

The visitors locked down defensively, however, and the Gulls were held without a field goal for the next three minutes. Wentworth, who shot 19-26 (73%) from the free throw line, sealed the victory. 

Senior Jen McBrien (Medfield, Mass.) dished out four assists and had two steals for the Gulls, while freshman Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) had three thefts and six points off the bench.

Wentworth guard Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) had three assists, a steal and three rebounds to go with her nine points. 

Both teams will continue in conference play, with Endicott heading out to Dudley to face Nichols on Thursday night at 5:30 pm. The Leopards will return to Boston and welcome Western New England the same evening.