Shorey's 18 points, nine blocks pace Salve Regina to 62-50 win over Endicott

NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University senior guard Kira Murphy (New Boston, N.H.) made one first-half basket, a 3-pointer at 17:33, and it broke a 4-4 tie and the Seahawks never looked back as they flew by the Gulls of Endicott College for a 62-50 victory in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener for both schools.

Murphy's 3-pointer was part of an 11-0 run for the Seahawks as they held the visitors to under 23 percent shooting in the first half.

Fellow senior captain Lindsay Shorey (Ashland, Mass.) topped all scorers with 18 points, 10 coming in the second half, and added nine blocked shots with eight of those swats coming late in the second half. Freshman forward Brianna DelValle (Belchertown, Mass.) came off the bench in the first stanza and made her first four field goal attempts.

Salve Regina (2-2; 1-0 CCC) built its largest lead, 19 points, when freshman guard Laura Anne Dinan (Monterey, Mass.) made a layup with 14:38 showing in the second (48-29).

Endicott (1-3; 0-1 CCC) then outscored the Seahawks 16-5 to close within eight points (53-45 at 5:35) after a Jordan Ferland (Charlestown, N.H.) jumper in the paint. Shorey, who was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line, accounted for the next six Seahawk points.

Seahawk junior point guard Kaitlyn Birrell (Scituate, R.I.) put together a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She also had five assists and three steals. Marissa Pendergast (Medfield, Mass.) matched her on the boards and handed out five assists and blocked three shots. DelValle finished with eight points and nine boards.

Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) led the Gulls with 14 points while Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) amassed a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) shared game-high rebound honors with White. Ferland finished with 10 points.

The Seahawks travel to Biddeford, Maine on Saturday in a matchup of the last two schools to win the conference title. Salve Regina defeated University of New England in the 2011 final in Newport, 76-74. The Nor'easters are the CCC coaches' favorite to win the championship this year.

Endicott hosts Roger Williams on Saturday at 1 p.m.