SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 9, 2016) - An 11-0 run that began late in the third quarter proved to be the difference as Endicott College held off a late Western New England University rally to earn a 59-52 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory this afternoon at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
 
The Golden Bears, who trailed by four (43-39) with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter, tied the score at 43 on four straight points from freshman forward Aliyah Brito (Brockton, Mass.).
 
Endicott junior forward Sara Hood (Burlington, Mass.) knocked down a jumper at the 2:01 mark, however, and scored the final six points of the quarter as the Gulls led 49-43 heading into the fourth. Senior guard Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) then connected from long range early in the fourth, and sophomore Hannah Shaw (Bar Harbor, Maine) converted a layup at the 7:40 mark to cap the 11-0 run.
 
Western New England junior forward Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) answered with a triple on the other end and sophomore guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) went 2-for-2 at the free throw line with 4:24 remaining as the Golden Bears cut their deficit to six (54-48), but they were unable to completely close the gap. After Cuddy extended the visitors' lead back to eight with 1:46 on the clock, Anderson and O'Neill brought Western New England to within four (56-52) with layups on consecutive possessions, but that was as close as the Golden Bears were able to get.
 
Anderson finished with a team-high 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 2-for-2 from three-point range, to go with three rebounds and two blocks. Senior forward Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) turned in her seventh double-double of the season and 33^rd of her career with 11 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals, while O'Neill recorded eight points and junior guard Sammie Battaini (Leominster, Mass.) contributed six points, four assists, and three rebounds.
 
Shaw paced Endicott with a game-high 14 points and eight rebounds, while Hood totaled ten points, five boards and three steals, and Cuddy, who surpassed the 1000-point mark for her career with a fourth-quarter jumper, finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
 
The evenly matched contest saw Western New England shoot 35.1 percent (20-of-57) to Endicott's 39.3 percent (22-of-56). Both teams turned the ball over 19 times, while the Golden Bears held the edge in assists (10-7) and the Gulls claimed a 42-34 advantage in rebounding.
 
Western New England held its largest lead of the game (22-17) following a steal and layup by freshman guard Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) early in the second quarter. The Gulls eventually pulled ahead by six (32-26) with 1:27 remaining in the quarter, before a 5-0 Western New England run the rest of the way brought the Golden Bears back to within one (32-31) at the break.
 
Western New England (7-6, 4-2 CCC) will be back at the Alumni Healthful Living Center next Thursday to take on Salve Regina, while Endicott (7-5, 5-1 CCC) returns home to host Bates on Tuesday night.