Roger Williams Tops Women's Basketball, 61-51

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team suffered a 61-51 setback at the hands of the visiting Roger Williams Hawks in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Thursday night inside MacDonald Gymnasium.

With the loss, the Gulls are now 6-5 overall and 4-1 in the CCC, while Roger Williams improved to 6-5 on the season and 3-2 in conference play.

The Hawks got out to a fast start, going up 19-6 at the end of the first quarter and led by as much as 14 with 08:28 on the clock in the second quarter before Endicott battled back behind an eight-point first half from senior guard Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) to bring the score to 30-18 at the half.

Senior guard Rachel Battista (Johnston, R.I.) led the floor with 10 points in the first half and the Hawks out-rebounded the Gulls 23-12 in the first twenty minutes. 

The Gulls played a tighter second half, but couldn't quite close the gap. A Cuddy layup with one minute remaining in the third quarter cut the deficit to 40-31 as the Gulls headed into the final 10 minutes of action down 46-33. The Hawks led by as much as 18, up 54-36 with 04:27 left in the game for their largest lead of the contest.

Cuddy had a game-high 17 points with four rebounds, four steals, three blocks and one assist to pace the Gulls as Endicott was handed its first conference loss of the season.

 BEYOND THE BOX

• The Gulls hit just 1-of-12 from three-point land for the second time this season (1-of-12 in 62-49 loss to MIT on Dec. 10, 2015.)
• Six points in the first quarter for the Gulls was the team's lowest this season. (Seven points in first quarter in 71-59 loss to Brandeis on Jan. 2, 2016.)
• Cuddy has recorded double-digit points in every game this season to stretch her double-digit scoring streak to 11 games.
• Cuddy is eight points away from scoring her 1,000^th career point as she sits at 992 through 82 career games played.
• Senior guard Caity Lowry (Quincy, Mass.) tied her season-high with seven rebounds as the Gulls lost the battle off the glass, 48-28, in favor of Roger Williams.
• Sophomore forward Sam Charette (Wenham, Mass.) chipped in a season-high 10 points to go with a career-high four blocks.
• Endicott had seven steals in the first half, with three from sophomore guard Gabriella Coppola (Watertown, Mass.).
• Endicott forced 28 turnovers, while giving the ball away 16 times of their own.

FOR THE FOES

• Battista finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
• Senior guard Angelica Ariola (Prospect, Conn.) also had 14 points, as she made 6-of-7 free throws to lead the team in that category.
• Junior forward/center Bridget Quilty (Duxbury, Mass.) pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds and added seven points, three blocks and two assists.

NOTES

• Endicott is 16-13 all-time and 10-5 at home against Roger Williams dating back prior to the 2001 season.
• The Gulls won the most recent meeting before tonight, 73-59, on the road in the CCC Quarterfinals on Feb. 24, 2015.

WHAT'S NEXT

Both teams are back in action on Saturday, January 9 at 1:00 p.m. as the Gulls (6-5, 4-1 CCC) will travel to Western New England University, while Roger Williams (6-5, 3-2 CCC) hosts Wentworth. 

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