Gulls survive second half scare, edge Illinois College
Nov. 21, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - A 21 point halftime lead proved to be too large of a hole for Illinois College to climb out of, as Endicott won its season-opener, 83-73, over the Lady Blues at the EC Tip-Off Invitational on Friday evening in Beverly, Massachusetts. The Gulls shot nearly 50% (32-of-65) in their debut, while also connecting on 16 of their 17 free-throw opportunities.
Endicott went on a 15 point run midway through the first half, turning a 10-10 game into a commanding 25-10 advantage with 7:37 left in the frame. The Gulls would stretch that lead to as many as 23, as Nicole Duchesne (Plaistow, N.H.) got to the rim off a nice pass from Ceciley Chisholm (Lexington, Mass.) for a hard fought lay-in. Illinois College junior Candace Norville (Batavia, Ill.) went on to carry the ball coast-to-coast, beating the buzzer to send the squads into the intermission with Endicott leading, 44-23.
The Lady Blues came out firing to start the second as sophomore Sarah Puckett (Hillsboro, Ill.) knocked down three-straight three-pointers, cutting into the Gulls' lead to 46-32. The visitors would get the margin down to 10 with 7:13 left in the regulation as Puckett collected a missed lay-up by Norville and notched the put-back, making it 71-61.
Carrie Walberg (Highland, Ill.) then made it a six point game as she scored consecutive baskets at the 2:23 and 1:16 marks, respectively, keeping Illinois' chances alive. The Gulls, feeling the heat, were able to fight their way to the line in the closing minutes as both Chisholm and Duchesne were perfect from the stripe in the final seconds to secure the win.
Nicole Duchesne led all scorers as she had a game-high 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Duchesne was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and she also collected seven rebounds to go along with four steals. The senior guard is now just 13 points away from 1,000 for her career.
Four other Gulls reached double-figures as Ceciley Chisholm had 14 points and seven boards and Nicole Young (Rockland, Mass.) posted 13 points and eight rebounds. Ashley Vitale (Wilmington, Mass.) had 12 points and three assists while Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field in the Gulls' win.
Illinois College was paced by Candace Norville and Sarah Puckett, as the duo each had 16 points for the Lady Blues. Rachel Macon (Carlyle, Ill.) had 11 points in the losing effort.
Each squad turned the ball over 24 times in their respective season-openers. Endicott turned the giveaways into 20 points, while the visitors capitalized on the extra possessions for 17 points. Endicott held a 44-38 advantage in points in the paint, and also had a 28-20 edge in bench points.
Newly appointed head coach Debbie Buff notches her first win as a Gull. The Blue and Green look to move to 2-0 as they take on the University of Maine Fort Kent on Sunday afternoon at noon. Illinois College hopes to rebound on Saturday as it also squares off with the Lady Bengals with tip-off coming on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.