Connecticut College Edges Women’s Basketball In Overtime, 61-59

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Endicott women's basketball team fell to Connecticut College in overtime, 61-59, on Sunday evening at the Charles B. Luce Field House. 

Kaleigh Putnam (Wallingford, Conn.) paced the Gulls with 17 points (7-18 FG, 0-2 3PT, 3-4 FT) to go along with five rebounds, four steals, and two assists. 

Emily Pratt (Gardner, Mass.) also chipped in with 16 points, while Shannon Gilbert (Easton, Conn.) contributed eight and Olivia Duncan (Essex Junction, Vt.) had seven off the bench.

Trailing by as many as 15 points in the third quarter (5:04), Endicott took control of the game over the next 8:35 of play behind a 21-5 run to take a 50-49 lead with 4:50 to go in the fourth. 

Pratt highlighted the offensive spurt with 14 points, which helped the Gulls claim their first lead of the matchup since the second quarter (23-22, 4:45),

From there, the scoreboard saw four lead changes and two ties before the Camels forced overtime by going 1-for-2 at the free throw line with 25-seconds to play. 

Both teams went on to exchange a pair of layups in overtime, respectively, prior to seeing Claire Gulbin's (Wilton, Conn.) jump shot at the 1:12 mark hold true the rest of the way even though each team combined for five true scoring possessions until the final buzzer sounded.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Today's contest was the first meeting between the two programs since November 17, 2012.
• Endicott won that matchup, 58-47, to begin its the 2012-13 season as part of the Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) Tip-Off Tournament.
• There were nine ties and 16 lead changes in total in today's matchup.
• In the second half, Endicott went 10-for-30 from the field (2-8 3PT), 8-for-10 at the free throw line, and forced the Camels to commit 12 turnovers to spark its comeback attempt.
• The Gulls also limited Connecticut College to a .296 field goal percentage in the second half.
• Meanwhile, the Camels used a game-high .643 field goal percentage in the second quarter and a 13-2 run to close out the opening stanza that led to their largest lead of the contest in the third quarter (15 points, 44-29, 5:04).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (4-5) travels to Babson on Tuesday, December 31 at 1 PM. Connecticut College (4-5) plays Geneseo in the Babson College Tournament on Saturday, January 4 at 3 PM. 

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

(Photo Credit - Nick Grace '20)