Gulls Suffer First Conference Defeat at Curry

MILTON, Mass. – Endicott's women's basketball team came from ten points down in the second half and held a late lead several times but was unable to close the door and fell 55-53 at Curry College, suffering their first defeat in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action.

Curry, who climbs above .500 at 7-6 and moves to .500 in the conference (3-3), also ends an 11 game losing streak against the Gulls, who are now 17-3 all-time against the Colonels.

Curry sophomore Kylie Beltz (Pequot Lakes, Minn.), who scored 11 points, hit one of her three three-pointers with just 39 seconds to play to give the hosts a 53-52 lead in a game that went back and forth for the final ten minutes once the Gulls tied the game at 39.

Endicott Sophomore Carley Stauffer (Chester, Vt.) had a career-high 12 points for Endicott on 4-8 shooting from behind the three-point line, and each of her triples was more clutch than the next one.

Curry opened up their biggest lead of the game early in the second half, a 33-23 advantage thanks to the work of leading scorers Samantha Corcoran (Hampton, N.H.) and Jeanette Fallon (Nashua, N.H.). Fallon led all players with 16 points, while Corcoran was just shy of a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

The Gulls erupted for a 23-10 run, helped by two trifectas from Stauffer, one of which got the Gulls to within two points, and the other which edged the margin to just one at 38-37 with nine minutes to play in the half.

Freshman Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) had eleven points off the bench for the Gulls, while starters Jen McBrien (Medfield, Mass.) and Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) each put in eight points and combined for fourteen rebounds, as the Gulls had a 47-36 advantage on the boards, including a 17-9 edge on the offensive glass.

It was turnovers and struggles from the free throw line that hurt the Blue and Green, particularly in the first half in which they gave the ball away 17 times. They would commit 24 turnovers in the game and shoot just 7-18 from the charity stripe in the game.

Curry held a six point advantage in a first half in which both teams struggled to score early. Three-pointers from Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) and Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) helped Endicott keep pace, though White and Whall were each limited to five points apiece in the game.

McBrien had four points and five rebounds by the end of the first half, while Curry junior Ashley Assarian (Chicopee, Mass.) had all three of her steals and three of her game-high four assists before the break. Assarian, who had eight points for the Colonels, hit a big three-pointer to stop Endicott's run and tie the game at 46 apiece before Fallon converted a layup to restore Curry's advantage.

Junior Ashley Walenta (Plainfield, Conn.) led the Gulls with three assists, while McBrien (Medfield, Mass.) had four points and five rebounds in the first half.

Helped by Stauffer, the Gulls shots 6-15 (40%) from downtown, besting their overall field goal percentage of 35%. Curry had a nearly identical shooting percentage, but went 7-24 from behind the three-point line (29.2%).

Curry's last win in the all-time series had come in December of 2002, a 58-50 victory, which, like their other two wins against Endicott, was played at their home court in Milton.

Endicott will finish their three game road trip next Tuesday afternoon at nearby Gordon College in a game that counts in both the CCC and North Shore Cup standings. Tip-off between the Gulls and the Scots is set for 5:30 pm in Wenham.

Curry hits the road for a conference affair at Western New England at the same date and time.