BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott led by 18 points in the first half and as many as 25 after the break as they sped past Nichols 63-41 Tuesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's basketball action at MacDonald Gymnasium.
The Gulls (8-3, 4-0 CCC) were led by 20 points from junior forward Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) and 18 points from sophomore Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.), who also led ten different Endicott rebounders with 7 caroms.
Nichols senior Hayley Zophin (Framingham, Mass.) led all players with 21 points and 17 rebounds for her 7th double-double of the season, but it wasn't enough to stop the Bison from falling to 4-6 and dropping their CCC mark to 1-3, while ending a mini two-game win streak.
It didn't take long for the Gulls to seize control of the game, jumping out to a 15-2 lead halfway through the first half and growing that lead to 24-6 at the 4:30 mark of the opening stanza, thanks to a layup by Julie Manning (Hull, Mass.), who had eight points, six of them in the first half.
Endicott started the second half on another run, this one 13-3 over the first five minutes to stretch their lead to a game-high 25 at 44-19. They would hold that advantage until the midway mark of the second half at 51-26, but Nichols would not go away quietly. The Bison went on a 14-2 run, with 10 points by Zophin and some nice work by Alexis Wegrzynek (Wilbraham, Mass.), who had a steal, an assist and a layup during the run.
However, the Gulls would shut the door with an 8-1 run to close the game. Ashley Walenta (Plainfield, Conn.) showed strong leadership down the stretch, with four points, three steals, two assists and six rebounds to lead the reserve unit.
Both Crough and Whall balanced their scoring well, with Crough scoring 11 points in the first half and Whall netting ten points in the second.
The Gulls shot 36% from the field, while Nichols managed just 27%. Neither team was prolific from outside, though, as the Gulls went 3-12 from downtown, while Nichols made just one of six attempts.
Whall led the Gulls at the free-throw line, shooting 11-12 from the charity stripe and Crough was 9-16 from the floor, including 2-4 from behind the three-point line.
Junior Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) had four steals, four points and five rebounds for Endicott, while senior guard Jen McBrien (Medfield, Mass.) scored six points and grabbed four rebounds.
Natalie Wilson (Bedford, N.H.) added seven points off the bench for the Bison and hit their only three-pointer of the evening. Wegrzynek had three steals to lead the visitors, while Kasey Pelletier (Dunstable, Mass.) led all players with four assists.
Endicott continues their work in the CCC on Thursday night when they travel to Wentworth for a 5:30 pm contest with the Leopards.
Nichols will return home on Thursday to host Eastern Nazarene in a conference affair.