CCC SEMIFINALS: No. 6 Endicott Surges Past No. 2 UNE, 65-56

BIDDEFORD, Maine — The Endicott women's basketball team outscored the University of New England (UNE) by double-digit points in the fourth quarter to earn a 65-56 win in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Semifinals on Friday night at the Harold Alfond Forum.

Emily St. Thomas (Sterling, Mass.) led all scorers with 19 points (6-17 FG, 0-2 3PT, 7-8 FT), eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

Taylor Bogdanski (Saugus, Mass.), Sarah Dempsey (Windham, N.H.), and Tara Laugeni (Woodbridge, Conn.) also contributed 14, 14, and 12 points, respectively, in the win.

Trailing 48-46 entering the fourth quarter, St. Thomas scored six straight points and fed Libby Fleming (Bangor, Maine) for a bucket of her own to complete an 8-0 run (54-48) and never looked back.

UNE eventually cut into the deficit at 56-53 with 4:40 to play, but the Gulls never wavered using points from Bogdanski (layup, 3:33), Dempsey (two free throws, 2:01 | jumper, 1:25), and St. Thomas (two free throws, :35) to punch their ticket into the CCC Championship for the third straight season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls are the lowest seed ever to appear in the CCC Women's Basketball Championship.
• Endicott handed UNE its second loss at home this season (12-2).
• Tonight's matchup featured 11 lead changes and 10 ties.
• Endicott outscored the Nor'easters 24-13 on second chance points.
• The contest was evenly matched throughout as UNE led for 18:45, while the Gulls held an advantage for 17:29.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 6 Endicott (13-14) travels to No. 1 Roger Williams on Sunday, February 26 for a 12 PM CCC Championship tip-off. UNE's season comes to a close at 18-9 overall. 

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(Photo Credit - Jonny Ratner '24)