Endicott Advances to First ECAC Championship in Program History

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team hosted Framingham State in the semifinal round of the ECAC DIII New England Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday evening. Junior Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) tallied 18 points, two shy of her career high to help lift the Gulls over the Rams 67-64. Endicott will make its first trip to the ECAC Finals round in program history while they earn their best record above 20 wins since the 2008-09 season. Endicott improves to 22-7, while the Rams close out their 2013-14 season at 18-12.

Both halves were a tight contest on the scoreboard and the stat sheet as the Blue and Green just edged Framingham State by three points. Endicott shot well from the field hitting 40.4% to their counterparts 38.1% while shooting 16-20 from the free throw line, where the Rams fell short shooting just 61.5%.

Whall was the scoring leader for both sides in the first half as she tallied 13, while the Ram's, junior Johanna Annunziata (Auburn, Mass.) hit eight for her team high. To start off the half Framingham was shooting well holding a 13-6 lead at the 15:04 mark with huge efforts from junior Margo McCarthy (Southhampton, Mass.) who nailed two treys in that time.

The Gulls would pick up their game after Coach Hutchinson took a time out to settle her squad. Whall came in off the bench and drained three straight jumpers from long range plus a quick layup to give Endicott the 20-14 lead. A three-pointer from junior Katelyn Iafolla (Franklin, Mass.) got the Rams back within one, but senior Jennifer White wanted her turn from long range as she hit for a four point lead in Gulls favor.

After a three minute lull from both sides Framingham took back the lead with efforts from McCarthy, but in the final minutes junior Julie Manning (Hull, Mass.) worked hard in the paint to help give the Blue and Green a 37-35 lead entering halftime.

To start off the second half Endicott opened up with five straight points to make it a 42-35 game led by senior Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) who tallied three points in two minutes. Finally by the 16:41 mark the Rams were finding their rhythm as freshman Monta Connolly (Lynn, Mass.) get her team back within three at the 15:23 mark.

After a three minute scoring lull from both sides Annunziata woke up Framingham as she drained a long three-pointer followed by a second trey from senior Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) to give the Rams a 49-47 lead.

In the final eight minutes both teams were on edge working the paint but at the 6:20 mark Endicott found their spark as they made nine points to the Rams two in a three minute span to take back the lead at 62-55. Hoffman drained another trey followed by a couple jumpers from McCarthy and freshman Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) to make it a one point game with one minute left in regulation.

In the final seconds White and senior Sarah Robinson came up clutch and nailed a set of free throws apiece to secure the 67-64 victory and their first trip to the ECAC Championship.

Endicott will play Smith in the ECAC DIII New England Championship Round on Sunday, March 9^th at 2:30 p.m. on their home court of MacDonald Gymnasium where they will look to bring their program their first championship in their history at Endicott. Smith defeated Brandeis in the second semifinal game to secure their spot in tomorrow's championship round.

2014 ECAC DIII NEW ENGLAND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Quarterfinals • Wednesday, March 5
#8 Brandeis University (13-12) at #1 Emmanuel College (19-7) - BC 64, EMM 55
#7 Wellesley College (16-9) at #2 Endicott College (20-7) - EC 58, WC 51
#6 Framingham State University (17-11) at #3 Wheaton College (20-7) - FSU 82, WC 69
#5 Rivier University (20-7) at #4 Smith College (16-11) - SC 75, RU 67

Semifinals • Saturday, March 8*
#6 Framingham State (18-11) vs #2 Endicott (21-7), EC 67, FSU 64.
#4 Smith (17-11) vs #8 Brandeis (14-12), Smith 64, BC 61

Championship Game • Sunday, March 9*
#4 Smith (18-11) vs #2 Endicott (22-7) - 2:30

*Games will be held at Endicott's MacDonald Gymnasium