NCAA TOURNAMENT: Women’s Basketball Tops No. 12/12 Scranton, 65-56

SCRANTON, Pa. – The Endicott women's basketball team defeated No. 12/12 nationally ranked Scranton, 65-56, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at the John Long Center.

With the win, the Gulls (19-10) will play No. 20/24 Christopher Newport (24-4) tomorrow in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 5 PM. Endicott also secured its first-ever victory over a nationally ranked opponent (based upon available data) and its first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament (first-ever appearance).

Meanwhile, Scranton sees its 2019-20 season come to a close at 24-4 overall. The Royals entered the 2019-20 season fresh off an NCAA Tournament Final Four appearance from a year ago that saw them return three out of their top-5 scorers and four starters from that squad into the fold this year. This was Scranton's 33rd NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, which includes nine Final Four appearances, one NCAA national championship (1985), and an overall record of 66-36 (. 647, counting tonight's game).

Kaleigh Putnam (Wallingford, Conn.) paced the Gulls with a game-high 22 points (7-16 FG, 2-4 3PT, 6-9 FT).

Mikaela Rogers (Haverhill, Mass.) also added 15 points, while Shannon Gilbert (Easton, Conn.) and Emily Pratt (Gardner, Mass.) contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Tied 25-25 with 3:07 left to play in the second quarter, the Gulls answered with an 8-4 run and all the momentum they needed headed into the break. Pratt swished a pair of three-pointers (30-25, 1:19 | 33-29, 0:09), while Rogers canned a layup at the 2:09 mark to get the run started.

From there, both teams nearly went basket-for-basket in the third but an and-one basket by Rogers with four-seconds to play in the quarter negated Scranton's momentum and turned its smallest deficit (47-46) of the contest since the game was tied at 25-25 into a two-possession matchup before the start of the fourth.

Endicott once again used that quarter-ending momentum to its advantage as the Gulls produced an 8-5 run in the opening 6:25 of play to secure a 58-51 lead. Rogers fueled the run with six points, while Mariah Chamberlain (Jaffrey, N.H.) also chipped in with a jumper at the 5:51 mark (59-46).

After Scranton cut its deficit to six points (58-52) with 3:18 remaining in the game, the Gulls came up clutch at the free throw line going 7-for-10 at the charity stripe to shore up the win. Putnam buried four free throws, while Olivia Duncan (Essex Junction, Vt.) swished three of her own.  

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• This was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
• Endicott extended its winning streak to seven straight games.
• This was only the second loss at home for Scranton this season.
• Defensively, the Gulls limited Scranton to a season-low eight 3-point field goal attempts tonight. The Royals finished this season averaging 23.4 three-point field goal attempts and set program records for three-pointers made and three-pointers attempted in 2019-20.
• Endicott led for 34:58 in tonight's contest.
• The Gulls' biggest lead was 10 points, which occurred four times in the matchup (16-6, 1:13, 1st QT | 18-8, 9:48, 2nd QT | 62-52, 0:40, 4th QT | 63-53, 0:33, 4th QT).
• Scranton was ranked No. 12 overall in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and D3hoops.com national rankings. The Royals started out the 2019-20 season ranked No. 3 in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll and No. 5 on the WBCA Preseason Poll.
• Christopher Newport is currently ranked No. 20 in the WBCA Poll and No. 24 by D3hoops.com.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott will play No. will play No. 20/24 Christopher Newport (24-4) tomorrow in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 5 PM. The Captains enter tomorrow's matchup on a 16-game winning streak. 

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(Photo Credit - Tim Dougherty)