Seahawks clip Gulls, win TCCC Finals
Feb. 28, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - The No. 5 seeded Salve Regina University defeated the No. 2 seeded Endicott College Gulls, 72-67, on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. to win the 2008-09 The Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship. The Seahawks improve to 20-8 and have earned an Automatic Qualifier to the NCAA Tournament next week. Endicott drops to 23-5 and must keep their wings crossed for an invite from the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Salve's Allegra Lovoy (Charlestown, R.I.) led the Seahawks with 27 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in the victory.
The Seahawks were able to take control right from the tip as Lovoy's back-to-back jumpers gave the Seahawks a 6-0 lead, prompting an Endicott timeout. Out of the break, the Gulls' Nicole Young (Rockland, Mass.) converted on an and-one layup to cut the deficit in half. Several minutes later, Endicott took its first lead of the game on an Ashley Vitale (Wilmington, Mass.) jumper to make the score 12-10 at the 12:28 mark of the first half.
The teams would trade buckets before another Lovoy jumper gave the Seahawks a 27-23 lead. The Gulls responded with an 11-0 run over the next three minutes, capped off by a Ceciley Chisholm (Lexington, Mass.) layup, to take a 34-27 lead with less than four minutes to play. Salve responded by outscoring the Gulls 9-3 over the final minutes and trailed 37-36 going into halftime. Allegra Lovoy scored five points in the closing :30 seconds including a 55-foot heave that rattled home as time expired.
In the first half, the score changed hands five times while there were six ties in the frame. The Gulls scored 12 points in the paint compared to just eight for the Seahawks while Endicott also received eight points from its reserves in the half. Salve Regina shot 48.4 % from the field in the period while holding the Gulls to 37.9 % shooting.
The Seahawks came out in the second half and regained control over the first five minutes of play. Salve's Meghan Averill (Newfields, N.H.) finished off a 10-3 run for the Seahawks that forced Endicott to burn another timeout. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes before Lovoy would strike again from the field to give the Seahawks a 58-49 lead with nearly eight minutes to play in the game.
Endicott would get as close as three down the stretch as Jenna Cosgrove (Sharon, Mass.) would calmly step to the line and knock down a pair of free throws with less than two minutes to play. However, Lindsay Shorey (Ashland, Mass.) would hit four freethrows in the final 1:30 to ice the game for the Seahawks and clinch the TCCC Championship, 72-67.
Salve Regina has won its fifth Conference Championship since 2002. The Seahawks have appeared in a total of nine league championships since 1987. The conference final on Saturday was Endicott's second appearance in the league final and are still in search of their first conference championship in the program's history.
Endicott was led by Ceciley Chisholm's third-consecutive double-double in the postseason with 16 points and 10 rebounds as she also had a team-high four assists. Ashley Vitale joined Chisholm in double figures with 15 points and nine rebounds while Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) chipped in with 13 points and Nicole Duchesne (Plaistow, N.H.) had 11 points. Each had a game-high four steals in the loss.
Lovoy led all scorers with 27 points as four other Seahawks players would score in double-figures. Lindsay Shorey had 14 points and seven rebounds while Erin Phillips (Morristown, N.J.) notched 13 points for the TCCC Champs.
The Seahawks will move onto the NCAA Tournament with the bracket being announced on Monday. The Gulls hope their 23-5 record will be good enough for an At-Large bid into the "Big Dance." The NCAA Selection Show can be viewed online on Monday at 11:00 a.m. by going to www.ncaa.com.