BIDDEFORD, Maine – The Endicott women's basketball team had their five-game winning streak snapped Thursday night when they were narrowly beaten by the University of New England 63-59 at James A. Beaudry Gymnasium. UNE (11-3, 6-1 CCC) leap-frogs the Gulls for first place in the Commonwealth Coast Conference standings, as Endicott drops to 9-6 (6-2 CCC).
The Gulls led 59-57 late in the game but were held scoreless for the final two minutes and twenty seconds of play, while the hosts put in six points, jump-started by a traditional three-point play converted by Senior guard Kari Pelletier (South Paris, Maine) with 1:10 to play.
Endicott had four players in double-digits as they shot nearly 45 percent from the field. Endicott also had a slim 34-32 advantage in rebounds, though UNE grabbed eight offensive boards to just five by the Gulls.
Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) led the Gulls in several statistical categories, scoring 18 points and collecting seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Crough, the reigning CCC player of the week, registered her eleventh game this season in double-digit scoring, hitting 7-13 from the floor and 2-4 from behind the three-point line. Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) was also 2-4 from three-point land and co-led the Gulls with 4 assists, along with Nicole Heffernan (Londonderry, N.H.).
UNE led for much of the first half, and had as much as a 12-point advantage with seven minutes left to go in the period, but Endicott ended the half on a 13-4 run to pull within three by the break at 27-24.
The Nor'easters had balanced scoring from eight different players in the opening twenty minutes, while Endicott was led by White's nine first-half points. White finished the game with fifteen points and five rebounds, while fellow sophomore Jordan Ferland (Charlestown, N.H.) poured in eleven points and dished out three dimes.
A three-pointer by Crough and a Ferland jumper gave Endicott the lead to start the second half, which would feature ten instances of a tied game. Ten points by senior captain Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) led the Nor'easters in the second stanza and classmate and fellow captain Kelly Paradis (Newport, Maine) capped her ten-point scoring night with a jumper to seal the victory for UNE.
Freshman Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) scored thirteen points in nineteen minutes of the bench, but Sarah Robinson's (Norwich, Vt.) two points were the only other offensive contributions Endicott received. Russell led the hosts with 14 points, while Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) scored 12 points, pulled down six rebounds and dished out five assists. Pelletier had nine points and two steals in the victory.
Endicott will be back home on Saturday afternoon for a 3:00 pm CCC tilt with Eastern Nazarene. The Nor'easters will be on the road for their conference test, a 1:00 affair at Western New England.