Women’s Basketball Drops Heartbreaking OT Loss to Endicott

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 2, 2022) – The Western New England women's basketball team fell 74-69 at the hands of the Endicott Gulls in overtime from the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center on Wednesday night. Three Golden Bears finished in double figures, while two Gulls combined for 63 points in the contest. 

Records:

• Western New England: 7-12 (5-7 CCC)
• Endicott College: 12-7 (9-3 CCC)

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears opened with good pace to start the first quarter as Grace Fisher and Julia Quinn would connect on early buckets to give Western New England a quick 4-0 lead. Endicott's Sarah Dempsey and Tara Laugeni would see all the points for the Gulls in the first quarter, while Western New England was space around their 21 first quarter points by five different players. Alexia Leon would open the quarter shooting 4-6, including 2-3 from deep to connect on ten points against Endicott. WNE took the first quarter lead 21-19 after Laugeni scored ten first quarter points and Dempsey came away with nine for the Gulls. 

The hot shooting for both teams cooled off drastically in the second quarter as Endicott came away with eight second quarter points, while the Golden Bears were held to just six. Shaina Cooney, Leon, and Emma Kahn would score in the quarter for WNE while Dempsey and Laugeni would be the only two again to score in the quarter for Endicott, scoring all 27 points in the first half for the Gulls. Neither team would find a rhythm in the second quarter as the final buzzer sounded to head into halftime. Endicott and Western New England would be knotted up at 27 heading into the third quarter. 

Both teams found their stroke in the third quarter as Fisher would connect for ten points in the quarter, shooting a perfect 5-5 from the field, while also collecting five rebounds in the quarter for WNE. Endicott and Western New England would go back and forth in the quarter, while WNE took their largest lead of the quarter, at six off a Fisher made layup. Sarah Dempsey for Endicott would knock down two free throws, while Olivia Duncan would put in her first two points on a layup with 1:38 to play for Endicott. Lindsey Carey would close out the scoring in the second half for both teams, hitting two strokes from the charity stripe to give Western New England the 51-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Endicott would open the fourth quarter on a quick 4-0 run in the first minute of the quarter as Laugeni would connect on two layups to cut Western New England's lead to just two. Kahn would end Endicott's streak with a successful layup with 8:03 to play in the quarter. Endicott would come back and eventually tie the time with seven minutes remaining in the quarter and eventually take their first lead with 6:20 to play off a Dempsey made free throw. Abby Garaban would connect on a layup, followed by a jump shot from Quinn to stretch the Golden Bears lead back. The Gulls largest lead of the quarter came with three minutes to go, as Dempsey put in two free throws to give Endicott a three-point lead. Western New England would make the comeback from their deficit, seeing Cooney finish at the rim. Fisher would hit a free throw with 43 seconds left to tie the game at 63. With 21 seconds to play, Dempsey knocked down a jumper from just inside the arc to give Endicott a two-point lead. Garaban would be fouled heading to the rim and make two clutch free throws to again tie the contest at 64. WNE would get a defensive stand with five seconds to play to send the game into overtime. 

In the overtime session Garaban would lead the Golden Bears to the first lead of the period on a connected free throw. Tara Laugeni made two free throws to send the lead back to Endicott, a lead the Gulls would hold onto for the remainder of the overtime session. The Golden Bears would get within one point of Endicott, though the Gulls would explode on a 4-0 run, capped off by a successful layup from Dempsey to give Endicott a 74-69 win. 

Inside the Arc:

• Endicott's Sarah Dempsey (37 points) and Tara Laugeni (26 points) finished with 63 of Endicott's 74 points on the night. The duo combined to shoot 26-43 from the field, including 11-11 from the free throw line. Dempsey grabbed 15 total rebounds while Laugeni came away with eight. 
• Grace Fisher scored 17 points for WNE on 7-9 shotting, while also collecting 11 rebounds, good for a double-double. Alexia Leon (15 points) and Julia Quinn (10 points) also came through with double digit points for the Golden Bears. 
• The Golden Bears struggled from the free throw line, going 12-24 from the stripe. Endicott converted 12-14 free throws on the night. 
• Western New England shot 41.5% from the field, including knocking down three three-point shots. 
• Endicott was successful on 31-64 shots on the night while failing to convert a three pointer (0-8). 
• Endicott went a perfect 4-4 in the OT session, while Western New England struggled, shooting 1-9. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears travels to the University of New England (11-8, 9-3 CCC) on Saturday, February 5 at 1:00 pm. 
• Endicott visits Roger Williams University on the same date.