Seahawks downed by Gulls, 68-60

BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott College used a 16-3 run to open the second half to take down Salve Regina University, 68-60, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Mass.

With the win, the Gulls improve to 16-6 overall and 9-2 in the TCCC while Salve Regina falls to 13-9 and 8-3 in league games. Endicott was led by Ashley Vitale (Wilmington, Mass.), who recorded a double-double with her game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds.

In the opening half, both teams grappled for control of the game as the score was tied six times and changed hands another five times in the first 20 minutes of action. Endicott jumped out to its largest lead of the half, 15-10, on a layup by Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) with 13:48 left to play. Salve charged right back and tied the score at 17-17 before grabbing the lead two minutes later to make it 20-19. Kaitlyn Birrell's (Hope, R.I.) three-ball gave Salve Regina its largest lead of the game, 26-19, before baskets by Vitale and Wright left the Seahawks with only a slim 26-23 lead heading into the break.

Salve Regina was able to convert 18 Endicott turnovers into 17 points in the first half. The Seahawks were led by eight points apiece from Erin Phillips (Morristown, N.J.) and Kaitlyn Birrell (Hope, R.I.) while Olivia Browning (Trumbull, Conn.) grabbed eight rebounds in the period. Ashley Vitale led all scorers heading into the break with 10 points while also adding six rebounds.

Following a Vitale jumper to start the half, Salve Regina's Lindsay Shorey (Ashland, Mass.) converted one-of-two free throws before Endicott rattled off 12 straight points en route to a 10 point lead with 16:43 remaining. The Seahawks climbed back into the game on a three by Phillips that made it a four point game, 42-38, before the Blue and Green stretched their lead back to double-digits and were up by as many as 15 with 2:54 to play in the game.

SRU would not go quietly however as the Seahawks chipped away in the final three minutes of play to get the score to within three on a pair of free throws by Shorey, trailing 63-60 with only :28 seconds remaining. The Seahawks were forced to foul in the final moments and the Gulls converted 5-of-6 from the charity stripe on the way to its ninth TCCC win of the season.

Endicott shot a blistering 59.1% (13-of-22) from the field in the second half while shooting 47.7% (21-of-44) for the game. The Gulls also won the battle on the boards, 46-29, despite committing almost twice as many turnovers (32) as the visitors (17) which Salve Regina promptly turned into 33 points.

Ashley Vitale led all scorers with 24 points while also grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. Vitale was extremely efficient from the field, shooting 8-of-12 (75%) and going 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Ceciley Chisholm (Lexington, Mass.) was the only other Gull in double-digits with 14 points while Ashley Wright chipped in with nine points and added eight rebounds.

Salve Regina had four players in double-digit scoring led by 15 points from Erin Phillips. Lindsay Shorey and Kaitlyn Birrell added 14 points and 10 points each, respectively, while Olivia Browning just missed out on a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Phillips and Birrell also grabbed six steals a piece while Shorey added four of her own.

The Blue and Green return to action on Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. when it hosts New England College in TCCC action as a part of the program's annual Senior Night activities. Salve Regina returns home for its last regular season home game on Wednesday night when the Seahawks host Eastern Nazarene at 6:00 p.m.

Courtesy of Endicott sports information