Salem State Edges Endicott, 71-67
Jan. 9, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Salem State's Danielle Jenkins (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough) scored a game-high 29 points on 13-of-26 shooting (50%) to lead the visiting Vikings past cross-town rival Endicott College, 71-67, on Wednesday night in Beverly, Massachusetts.
The Gulls came to play in the opening frame as Kaylin Burke (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) drained a deep 3-ball at the 14:02 mark to give Endicott the early advantage, 11-6. Just under five minutes later, the Gulls grabbed what turned out to be their largest lead of the game as sophomore forward Ceciley Chisholm (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) took a feed from Sara Doherty (Somerville, Mass./Arlington Catholic) and converted in the paint to put EC ahead by six.
Following the Chisholm lay-up, Salem State rattled off an impressive 10-1 run, capped off by a lay-in by Melissa Macchi (Peabody, Mass./Peabody) to give the visitors a 20-17 lead. The Vikings would carry that three point advantage into the locker room, as SSC led 31-28 at the break.
Ceciley Chisholm knotted the game at 31-all just 11 seconds into the second half as she converted the hoop and the foul for the Blue and Green. From there, Endicott sunk three straight buckets to once again grab a six point advantage, 37-31.
The Vikings made their run at the 12:30 mark of the second half as the visitors erased a six point deficit in a span of 2:30. Danielle Jenkins and Katie Bielonko (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee) picked up hard points down low during the run, as Salem State took its first lead of the second half, 46-45.
The seesaw battle continued into the late moments of regulation until the visitors rifled off nine straight points, a streak started by a clutch 3-pointer from Jakoya Wilkins (Dorchester, Mass./Bedford) in the far corner. Although it looked like the Gulls would be able to recover, Danielle Jenkins silenced the comeback attempt as she broke a double-team effort with a step-back jumper to ice the win.
Salem State was led by Jenkins' 29 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Jakoya Wilkins and Katie Bielonko each chipped in 10 points in the win.
Endicott was paced by a team-high 15 points from Nicole Duchesne (Plaistow, N.H./Central Catholic). Ceciley Chisholm and Nicole Young (Rockland, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) each dropped 13, while Paris Sanders recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Gulls.
With the win, Salem State halts a two game skid and improves its record to 8-3 (0-0 MASCAC). The Vikings, who are a few votes shy of cracking the USA Today/ESPN Top-25 Coaches' Poll, return to action next Thursday as they will host Emmanuel College at 6:00 pm. The loss dips Endicott below .500 (5-6 overall, 0-0 TCCC). The Gulls open conference play on Saturday as they travel to Quincy, Mass. to square-off with Eastern Nazarene.