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GULLS SOAR PAST PRIDE IN QUARTERFINALS 57-47
BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott's Ceciley Chisholm (Lexington, Mass.) had a game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Endicott College Gulls defeated the Regis College Pride, 57-47, on Tuesday night in the Quarterfinals of The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament held in Beverly, Mass. Endicott erased a seven-point halftime deficit and outscored the Pride 35-18 in the second half en route to the victory. The Gulls improve to 22-4 and have moved on to the Semifinals where they will host the University of New England on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. Regis wraps up its season at 17-9.
Chisholm started off the night with a layup to get the Gulls on the board but the Pride would go on a 14-1 run to take an early 14-3 lead. Endicott would try to climb back into the game but a layup by Kim Mariotti (Springfield, Mass.) forced an Endicott timeout with the score 22-10.
Out of the timeout, the Gulls were able to go on a 10-2 run capped off by a Chisholm layup, prompting a Regis timeout with the score 24-20. Another Chisholm layup nearly two minutes later would cut the deficit to two before the Pride would close out the half on a 5-0 run. Kim Mariotti would knock down a 10-foot jumper as time expired to head into the intermission leading 29-22.
The two teams both struggled from the field in the first frame as the Gulls shot 29% from the field compared to 32.3% for the visitors. Endicott shot 3-for-10 from downtown while committing 10 turnovers however the Gulls held the edge in fast break points, 6-0.
The Gulls came out firing in the second half as they quickly turned a seven point deficit into their first lead of the game at the 16:08 mark of the half, taking a 32-31 lead on a jumper by Ashley Vitale (Wilmington, Mass.). Endicott would hold onto the lead for good as they quickly took a five-point lead on another Chisholm layup off a pass from Jenna Cosgrove (Sharon, Mass.).
The Pride would get as close as two the rest of the way as a layup by Sarah McNult (Hampstead, N.H.) made the score 38-36. Unfortunately for Regis, it would not be enough as the Gulls held onto their lead and extended it to 10-points by hitting their freethrows, leading to the final score of 57-47.
For the game, the Gulls shot 18-of-59 from the field, good for only 30.5%. The Endicott defense played a major role as it forced the Pride to shoot only 21.2% in the second half and go 0-for-12 from beyond the arc. Endicott would win the battle on the boards 52-43 while having seven blocks and 10 steals. The Gulls would receive zero bench points as the starters would score every point for the home team.
Ceciley Chisholm led all players with 18 points and 13 rebounds. She was joined in double-figures by Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) who had 15 points and Nicole Duchesne who had 10 points. Ashley Vitale chipped in with seven points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks. Kaylin Burke (Leominster, Mass.) had a game high six assists and four steals for the Gulls.
Regis was led by a double-double from Kim Mariotti who had 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Sarah McNult had a team-high 11 rebounds for the Pride while Jessica Page (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points and three steals.
Endicott will move onto the Semifinals where it will host No. 3 University of New England on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. in Beverly, Mass. The Nor'Easters defeated Western New England College in their Quarterfinal matchup, 79-66, on Tuesday night to move forward in the tournament. The Gulls defeated the University of New England 85-65 on February 10th earlier this year and will hope to do the same on Thursday.
