Sarah Hood Grabs Career-High 12 Rebounds In 74-61 Setback At MIT In Season Opener

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Endicott women's basketball team was outlasted, 74-61, by host Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Tuesday night inside Rockwell Cage in non-conference action to begin the 2016-17 season.

Endicott out-scored MIT in the first quarter (15-11) thanks in part to a 10-0 run spanning 2:56 of time off the clock after opening the game trailing 6-0 to make it 12-8 for the Gulls' largest lead of the game.

MIT took an 18-17 lead on sophomore guard Maude Gull's (Zurich, Switzerland) trey with 8:24 to play in the first half and the Engineers would not lose the lead the rest of the game as Endicott trailed 36-29 at halftime.

A spirited fourth quarter rally for Endicott wasn't enough to make a full comeback as the Gulls' quarter-high 19 points brought the team to within seven, down 58-51 with 5:34 to play.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Four Gulls scored in double figures as junior forward Hannah Shaw (Bar Harbor, Maine) led the way with a team-high 18 points.
• Shaw's team-leading 18 points is the most points for Endicott in a season opener since Kayleen Whall chipped in 19 against MLCA exactly three years ago tonight (11/15/13).
• Junior guard Hannah Kiernan (Wenham, Mass.) added 12 points.
• Junior guard Gabriella Coppola (Watertown, Mass.) dished out a team-high five assists and chipped in 11 points.
• Senior forward Sarah Hood (Burlington, Mass.) tallied her first double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds) of the season and third career.
• Hood grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds that matched MIT's sophomore guard Taylor V'Dovec (Blaine, Wash.) for a game-high.
• The Gulls' largest lead of the game was the 15-11 differential at the end of the first quarter.
• Endicott out-scored MIT in the first (15-11) and fourth quarters (19-17).
• An MIT 43-37 lead with 6:35 left in the third quarter was as close as the game would get the rest of the way.
• MIT out-rebounded the Gulls, 49-46, but Endicott held a 21-13 advantage off the offensive glass.
• Freshman guard Emily Pratt (Gardner, Mass.), freshman forward Mikaela Rogers (Haverhill, Mass.), freshman guard Kaleigh Putnam (Wallingford, Conn.), and sophomore forward Emma Tierney (Wolfeboro, N.H.) all saw their first action in a Gulls' uniform as part of their respective collegiate debuts .

FOR THE FOES

• The Engineers placed five in double figures as Gull paced the offensive attack with a game-high/career-high 24 points off the bench.
• V'Dovec brought down a team-high 12 rebounds to go along with 11 points for a double-double.
• Senior guard Liana Ilutzi (East Hanover, N.J.) also earned a double-double with her 14 points and game-high/career-high 11 assists.
• Sophomore guard Kristen Ngan (Sudbury, Mass.) and sophomore guard Kara Holinski (Livonia, Mich.) each added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
• MIT made 21 of 33 free throws, compared to the Gulls' 4-of-10 from the stripe.
• MIT led by as much as 18 with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter.

NOTES

• The Gulls are 2-4 in season openers in head coach Brittany Hutchinson's six seasons at the helm.
• Today was the first season opener under Hutchinson that was not part of a tournament or annual classic.
• Endicott is 3-2 against MIT in the all-time series, including a 2-1 record in away contests.
• MIT won the most recent meeting before today, 62-49, in Beverly, Mass. on 12/10/15 to make it two straight victories against the Gulls.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (0-1, 0-0 CCC) will travel to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. to participate in the Skidmore Invitational with the first game on Friday, November 18 at 6:00 p.m. against host Skidmore.

MIT (1-0, 0-0 NEWMAC) will take on Trinity (Conn.) in the Curry College Tip-Off Tournament beginning Saturday, November 19 at 1:00 p.m.  

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