CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In what was an uphill battle from beginning to end, Endicott was able to mount an incredible second-half comeback and clip the MIT Engineers 48-46 in non-conference women's basketball action on Tuesday night at Rockwell Cage.
Trailing by nineteen points, Endicott (3-0) pulled off a 27-6 run over the final 16:05 of the second half to overcome an MIT team (1-2) that had held them at bay for much of the game.
Sophomore Katelyn Wright (Sudbury, Mass.) hit a three-pointer with under three minutes to play to give Endicott a 47-44 lead, the first time they had gotten their noses in front all night.
Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.), who converted two jumpers to tie the game and set the stage for Wright's heroics, helped preserve the lead with a huge block in the final seconds as the Engineers looked for a shot to tie the game.
Crough had eight points in the game, all after the break, which started with eight unanswered points by the Engineers before Endicott began chipping away from a 40-21 deficit.
The Gulls broke into the Engineer's lead with an 11-2 run, capped by Wright's other three-pointer in the game and a jumper by Crough.
Freshman McKenzie Farquharson (West Haven, Conn.) was also pivotal in the second-half for the Gulls, contributing five of her team high nine points and all seven of her rebounds in the second half, helping Endicott to a 50-40 advantage on the glass.
The Gulls cut the deficit to seven points before a three-pointer by Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) made it a four point game with over 6 minutes left to play.
The hosts opened up their lead early in the game, jumping out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes of play, led by three-pointers from Tamara Pena (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) and Mari Kordell (Ijamsville, Md.).
Pena, who led all scorers with 15 points, helped increase MIT's lead to 23-17, though the Gulls were able to stay in the game thanks to three straight three pointers from Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.), Ashley Walenta (Plainfield, conn.) and Farquharson.
Whall had seven points and seven rebounds before halftime, while Kordell (12 points) and Pena (13) were in double digits before the break for the Engineers.
Endicott senior Jen Mc Brien (Medfield ,Mass.) had eight points and two assists, while White dished out five dimes and grabbed 9 rebounds.
MIT freshman Maya Ramachandran (Fremont, Calif.) was a force on the boards for MIT, grabbing 18 rebounds, ten of them in the second half. She also had four blocks, three of them during the Engineer's strong opening frame.
Each team shot 50% from behind the three-point line in the first half. MIT made four attempts, while all 3 of Endicott's came in a span of one minute and fourteen seconds.
The Gulls shot just 28 percent in the first half, compared to 38% for the Engineers. MIT shot only 21 percent in the second half and were 0-11 from behind the three-point line.
The Gulls will wait until after Thanksgiving break to play their first home game, a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) tilt with Salve Regina on November 28th. That game, a rematch of last year's CCC title game, is set for a 5:30 pm tip-off.
MIT will play this coming Saturday afternoon, a 3:00 pm home game against Emerson College.