BEVERLY, Mass. – Trailing by two points at halftime, Endicott went on an 18-4 run that included ten points from senior captain Nicole Heffernan (Londnderry, N.H.) to propel them to a 59-48 victory over Eastern Nazarene College. Heffernan scored 14 of her game-high 17 points in the second half as the Gulls picked up an important win in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's basketball action at MacDonald Gymnasium.
Sophomore Jordan Ferland (Charlestown, N.H.) added 15 points in the victory, and grabbed 9 rebounds for Endicott (13-8), who improves to 10-4 in the CCC with the victory. The Lions fall below the .500 mark to 10-11 and even up their conference record at 7-7.
Endicott's run gave them breathing room in what had been a back and forth affair, but did not seal the victory so easily. Eastern Nazarene went on a 7-0 run of their own to tighten the gap and would pull within two points twice in the second half. The first occasion came on a jumper by Ace Carradine (Honolulu, Hawaii) with just over five minutes to play. The Gulls would pull their lead back to five points but Carradine sunk a free-throw to trim the margin back to four.
With under four minutes to play, the Lions would again pull to within two on a steal and layup converted by junior Mel Green (Annapolis, Md.), but jumpers by Heffernan and Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) and then free throws by the same pair put the Gulls comfortably back up by nine.
Endicott shot 42 percent in the second half and made ten shots from the free-throw line. Heffernan was two-for-two from behind the three-point line in the second period and hit on her only attempt in the first half, accounting for all of the scoring in Endicott's 3-11 effort from downtown.
Each team struggled from the floor in the first half, with the Gulls shooting barely over 30 percent and the Lions a shade under 35 percent. Endicott made just one of their six attempts from behind the three-point line, while Eastern Nazarene went 3-8 from downtown. The teams each took only two attempts from the free-throw line, with each team connecting on their two chances.
Ferland and Lions junior Alexis Malloy (Washington, D.C.) each led their respective teams with ten points in a first half in which no team led by more than four points.
Endicott held a 19-15 lead after Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) found Julie Manning (Hull, Mass.) for an easy layup and then Manning returned the favor by feeding Crough for a jumper.
The visitors rattled off seven straight points, keyed by a three-pointer by Malloy and a jumper by Abbie Tonello (Plymouth, Mass.) to grab a 22-19 lead and went to break ahead 25-23.
Endicott got just 8 points from their bench, all from the hands of forward Julie Manning (Hull, Mass.) who also grabbed two rebounds and registered an assist, a steal and two blocks in 14 minutes of play.
Crough continued her strong week of defensive play, blocking two more shots herself after registering nine blocks in the past three games. White scored nine points and picked up three assists, as did Heffernan, who also recorded three steals.
Malloy managed just two points in the second half for the Lions but did get herself a double-double with fourteen rebounds in the game, helping the Lions to a 48-39 edge on the glass. Carradine and Dianna Bonds (Marietta, Ga.) each added nine points, with Carradine dishing out three assists, and Shardae Brown (Waterbury, Conn.) pulled in ten rebounds and scored seven points.
The Gulls hit the road for a pair of games, the first to come on Wednesday night at local rival Gordon College. The Gulls, along with all their supporters from the Endicott Fan Bus, will take to the court at 6:00 pm.
Eastern Nazarene will also be on the road Wednesday night when they play conference-leading University of New England in Biddeford, Maine at 5:30 pm.