BEVERLY, Mass. – Seniors Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) and Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) became the 11th and 12th players in Wentworth Institute of Technology women's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point mark for their careers, however the Leopards were defeated by Endicott, 58-44, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action.
Rogers, who entered the game needing just one point to break the century mark, etched her name in the Wentworth history books when she converted a three-point play with 3:24 left in the opening quarter. Camara came into tonight's contest needing 11 points to join her classmate and became the 12th member of the century club on a three pointer with 6:31 left in the fourth quarter.
Endicott scored the first four points of the game before a sophomore Haley Sabino (Topsfield, Mass.) free throw and Camara layup made it a one-point game. Four straight from Camara gave the Leopards a 7-6 lead and Wentworth took a 10-9 lead when Rogers converted the aforementioned three-point play. The Gulls closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run, taking a 16-10 lead on a sophomore Gabriella Coppola (Watertown, Mass.) layup.
The Gulls led by as many as six before two free throws from Rogers and two from Sabino made it a two-point game with 2:31 remaining in the half. Four straight points from sophomore Hannah Shaw (Bar Harbor, Maine) gave the hosts a 25-19 lead with 1:01 left in the half and a Sabino free throw made it a five-point (25-20) game at the break.
An 8-2 run to open the second half gave Endicott a 33-22 lead with 7:05 remaining after a senior Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) basket. Five straight points from senior Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) brought Wentworth within six (33-27), however an 11-2 Gull run made it 44-29 with just under a minute left in the third quarter and Endicott led by 16 (47-31) after three quarters of play.
Endicott scored the first basket of the fourth quarter before Wentworth clawed its way back into the game, using an 8-0 run to pull within 10 on a Sabino jumper. However, Shaw would score four straight points to extend the lead.
Shaw came off the bench to score 13 points for the Gulls while Coppola added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Camara led all scorers with 16 points while Sabino scored 11 and Rogers had eight.
Both teams conclude the regular season on Saturday as Wentworth (6-18, 2-15) hosts Roger Williams and Endicott (15-9, 13-4) hosts Western New England.
