BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) came off the bench to score 15 points, grab seven rebounds, and have six steals to help pace the Endicott women's basketball team to its third straight win, a 57-34 triumph over Wentworth in Commonwealth Coast Conference action.
The Gulls took an early lead of 10-4 on a 3-pointer from junior Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) with 15:17 left in the half before the Leopards scored the next six points, tying the game at 10-all on a senior Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) layup with 13:00 left. After Endicott junior Julie Manning (Hull, Mass.) hit a lyup on the next possession, Wentworth took a 13-12 lead on a 3-pointer from freshman Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.).
A basket by White and two free throws from Manning gave Endicott a 16-13 lead, and, after McLaughlin cut the lead to one (16-15) with 5:09 left, the Gulls outscored the hosts 11-2 over the remainder of the half to take a 26-17 lead into the locker room.
A basket by junior Ashley Stowe (Voluntown, Conn.) and a 3-pointer by Conway cut the lead to four less than a minute into the second half and the Leopards would trim the lead to as few as four on two other occasions before the Gulls used an 11-1 run and took a 14-point lead on a Cuddy putback.
Wentworth outscored Endicott 6-1 – with four points coming from junior Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) – to cut the lead to nine with 10:01 left, however a 9-1 run extended the lead to 17 with just under three minutes left.
Three other players scored in double figures for the Gulls as Manning scored 12 points and White and senior Jen McBrien (Medfield, Mass.) had 10 apiece. McBrien also had a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with four assists.
Stowe led the Leopards with eight points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Kerr and Conway each tallied seven points on the night. Conway also had five assists. The Leopards were held to 28 percent shooting from the floor for the game.
With the win Endicott improves to 9-3 overall and 5-0 in CCC play. The Gulls are at Curry on Saturday. Wentworth falls to 7-6 (2-4) and is at Roger Williams on Saturday.
