Beverly, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team rebounded from a slow start to hand visiting Roger Williams its first conference loss of the season, 62-42, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) action inside MacDonald Gymnasium.
The Gulls fell behind early before piecing together a 19-2 run to close out the first half and build an insurmountable lead. Endicott improves to 12-4 overall (6-0 TCCC) while Roger Williams stalls at 12-5 overall and 5-1 in conference play.
Roger Williams jumped out to a quick start and took a 6-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. Endicott took its first lead of the game at the midway point of the first half when freshman forward Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) hit a baseline jumper to give the hosts a 14-13 advantage. Crough finished with nine points off the bench.
After a Roger Williams' timeout, freshman guard Kaitlyn Bovee (Berlin, Conn.) drilled with a jumper to put the Hawks back on top by one.
Crough countered with another jumper before Ashley Walenta (Plainfield, Conn.) drilled a three-pointer, one of two on the day for the freshman guard, to put the Gulls on top 19-15.
Alexandria Lanieri (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) hit a jump shot with 8:10 remaining in the half to pull the Hawks within two, the closest they would get the rest of the way.
The Blue and Green held RWU without a field goal for the rest of the first half and outscored the visitors 19-2 over the final eight minutes. The hosts took a commanding 38-19 lead into the locker rooms.
Endicott's bench outscored Roger Williams 17-6 in the first half alone, paced by Walenta and Crough, who scored seven and six points, respectively.
The Hawks' Elizabeth Kilzi (Waverly, Pa.) scored eight points out of the gate in the second half, but Roger Williams failed to put together a substantial run over the final 20 minutes.
Balanced scoring was the key for the Gulls, as seven players recorded at least six points. Senior center Ashley Vitale (Wilmington, Mass.) tallied a team-high 13 points to go along with six rebounds and four steals. Classmate Brittany Kelleher (Wakefield, Mass.) pulled down a team-high nine boards and dished out six assists.
Endicott's leading scorer, senior guard Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.), was limited to just six points in the win, but chipped in six rebounds and four steals in 35 minutes of action.
Roger Williams was led by Kilzi's 16 points, including a pair from beyond the arc, and two assists. Paige Congdon (Westwood, Mass.) paced the Hawks on the glass, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds including seven on the offensive end.
The win is the seventh straight over RWU for the Blue and Green, who have not dropped a game in the rivalry since Feb 19, 2005.
Endicott returns to the floor on Saturday when it travels to North Shore-rival Gordon College for a 1:00 pm tip-off. Roger Williams travels to Colby-Sawyer for a 3:00 pm showdown with the Chargers.