Gulls get up early to give Seahawks fourth straight setback

NEWPORT, R.I. (February 12, 2022) - Junior Tara Laugeni (Woodbridge, Conn.) connected on her first four shot attempts and led Endicott College women's basketball to a 74-52 victory with a game-high 26 points in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action against Salve Regina University at the Rodgers Recreation Center on Saturday afternoon.

Laugeni finished the first quarter with 14 points on seven of eight from the floor and the Gulls had an eight-point lead, 20-12.

Salve Regina (9-12, 8-7 CCC) got its first points from junior captain Meghan Henaghan (Whitman, Mass.) on a 17-foot jumper. That tied the score at 2-2 but Endicott (14-8, 11-4 CCC) led for over 39 minutes of the contest.

Henaghan finished with a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds). The Seahawks were led in scoring by Briana Neary (Wayne, N.J.) who had 15 points on six of 10 shooting from the floor and three free throws. Neary also finished with eight rebounds.

Henaghan's classmate and fellow captain Morgan Shuey (Corning, Iowa) also chipped in with 12 points and four assists. The Seahawks kept close with the Gulls in the second quarter, 16-14, with Neary (5), Shuey, and Olivia Martin (Hanson, Mass.) (5) providing the offense. Endicott had two baskets apiece from Libby Fleming (Bangor, Maine) and Taylor Bogdanski (Saugus, Mass.), each with a 3-pointer as well.

Other double-figure scorers for the visitors included Sarah Dempsey (Windham, N.H.), Emily St. Thomas (Sterling, Mass.), and Fleming with 14, 13, and 10 points, respectively.

Salve Regina hits the hardwood again on Monday (6 p.m.) in a re-scheduled matchup at Curry College.