Women's Basketball Returns to .500 after Road Win over Gordon

WENHAM, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team won for the fourth time in their last five games and in the process brought their season record back up to .500 after the Gulls defeated CCC rival Gordon 68-52 on the road Saturday afternoon. Four of Endicott's starters scored in double figures including junior guard Nicole Catizone (Woburn, Mass.) who scored a team-high 19 points.

Endicott (9-9, 5-6 CCC) now sits in sixth place in the conference standings and with two critical games next week against Salve Regina and Roger Williams, the Gulls have their sights on climbing further up the league table. Endicott hosts Salve Regina (11-8, 8-4 CCC), who will be coming off a 57-53 loss to Wentworth, on Tuesday, February 3rd at 5:30 p.m.

Gordon (3-15, 1-10 CCC) got a game-high 20 points from junior guard Olivia Vetere (Mahopac, N.Y.) but failed to win back-to-back games after earning their first CCC win last Tuesday. The Scots look to right the ship on Tuesday at Western New England (11-7, 6-6 CCC) for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

Catizone produced her best output since December, pouring in 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting including a 4-of-5 from three-point range and 3-of-4 at the free throw line. Catizone was also a major factor in Endicott's ability to produce Gordon turnovers, registering a career-high four steals as the Gulls forced 14 overall in the game. Catizone also had four assists and three rebounds in the win.

Three other Endicott starters scored in the double digits including freshman forward Hannah Shaw (Bar Harbor, Maine) who broke her previous career-high of 13 points by scoring 14 points in the first half on 7-of-9 from the floor. Shaw nearly recorded a double-double, adding nine rebounds as well as three steals and two assists. Junior Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) scored 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds, registered four steals, and had a block and an assist in the win.

Endicott senior forward Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) inched closer to becoming women's basketball's 10^th member of the 1,000-point club as she netted 11 points and currently sits at 990 for her career. Whall added five rebounds and was a factor in Endicott's effective shooting from three-point range, knocking down 2-of-4 attempts. Whall has her next chance to join former teammate Samantha Crough '14 in the 1,000-point club on Tuesday night at home against Salve Regina.

For the game, Endicott shot 46% as a team overall and 44% (8-of-18) from beyond the arc. Endicott was able to hold a 36-30 rebounding advantage which included nine offensive boards. Cuddy, Shaw, and Whall each had two offensive boards apiece.

Aside from Vetere's game-high offensive output, Gordon junior guard Mariel Barner (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was a factor with 15 points, three boards, three assists, and two steals. Scots leading scorer Brooke Kratche (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) added 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.

Endicott held a 35-29 lead at halftime after Vetere hit a running three-pointer off the glass and in for the Scots to pull within six at the break. At the start of the second half, Kratche knocked down a jumper to make it a four-point game but Endicott rattled off a 10-0 run capped off by back-to-back threes from Catizone and Whall to force a Gordon timeout.

Endicott was able to maintain a double-digit lead for much of the second half until Gordon freshman forward Sophie Linnell (Richmond, Va.) made a layup with 5:20 remaining in the game to cut the lead down to single digits at 60-52. The Blue and Green ended the game on an 8-0 run which included a three-point make from Cuddy and free throws by Catizone to seal the win.

Endicott improved to 20-10 all-time against Gordon and have now won 16-straight over the Scots dating back to the 2005-06 season.