BEVERLY, Mass. (February 10, 2024) – The Western New England women's basketball team outscored the hosting Gulls from Endicott College 20-4 in the fourth quarter to complete a comeback after being down by as many as 13 points in the game to take down the Gulls by a final score of 61-56. Former Endicott Gull Tara Laugeni led WNE with 19 points in the win.

Records:

• Western New England: 18-5, 12-3 CCC
• Endicott College: 12-10, 7-7 CCC

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears would win the tip and score the first bucket of the game when Lilly Hedge connected from the corner to give Western New England an early lead. The Golden Bears would hold an 8-5 advantage after Shaina Cooney and Colleen Furlong would contribute on the offensive end to give WNE their biggest lead of the game thus far. Cora Nadeau would shoot well early for Endicott, scoring nine points on three three-balls in the opening quarter, which gave Endicott an 11-10 lead. After Western New England was held without a field goal for over five minutes, Endicott would build their lead to five points after their leading scorer, Sarah Dempsey, would begin to take over. Caitlyn Hunt would check into the game and score a layup to stop EC's run. The Gulls would cash three free throws late in the quarter to take a six-point lead, 21-15, after one quarter of play.

The Golden Bears would outscore Endicott by one point in the second quarter, with former Gull Tara Laugeni getting the scoring started for the Golden Bears in the second. Emma Kahn would contribute with a layup with 8:39 to play as the Endicott six-point lead quickly dropped to a two-point lead. After Western New England got the game within one point, thanks to a Colleen Furlong three, Endicott would score the next 11 points to take their first double-digit lead of the game, which grew to as many as 12 after Emma Shinney and Sarah Dempsey would combine for all 11 points for Endicott, taking a 34-22 lead. Western New England would stop the bleeding when Furlong launched a triple again, while Laugeniand Lilly Hedge would get Western New England back within three points of the tie, trailing 34-31 with 3:13 to play in the quarter. Shinney would shine for Endicott down the stretch of the second quarter, hitting a layup as the buzzer sounded to go up 38-33 at the break. WNE shot 40% from the field, with Laugeni scoring 11 first-half points to lead WNE. Sarah Dempsey scored 12 points to lead EC in the opening 20 minutes.

Lilly Hedge opened the second half with two free throws to give Western New England the first points of the game for the third straight quarter, though Endicott would come out and dominate the quarter, despite Western New England closing the gap to one point with 6:32 to play after Shaina Cooney converted on a layup. From there, Endicott would outscore the Golden Bears 12-2 down to the end of the third quarter. The Gulls took an 11-point lead after the third quarter of play.

Down by 11 entering the fourth, Western New England would need a comeback to maintain the top spot in the conference. Tara Laugeni opened with the first six points of the quarter for Western New England, trailing by five with 7:45 to play. The Golden Bears forced 13 turnovers in the second half by the Gulls and continued to stay hot from the floor. Emma Kahn dropped a three with six minutes still to play, seeing Western New England trailing by two. After a turnover by Endicott, Shaina Cooney would get fouled and convert both free throws to even the score at 52. Western New England would come around and take a 54-52 lead when Emma Kahn dropped a layup inside the paint, WNE's first lead since the early stages of the contest. Endicott would score their first bucket of the quarter with 4:16 to play, while Endicott's Sarah Dempsey dropped back to back hoops to get Endicott back in the lead at 56-54 with 3:44 to play. Colleen Furlong would break the mini-4-0 Gulls run with a running layup to tie the score at 56 while getting fouled. Western New England would force a shot clock violation on the next EC possession, which gave the Golden Bears the ball back. Emma Kahn would score again, giving WNE a two-point lead with 1:15 remaining. Endicott would turn the ball over again, while Lilly Hedge would convert one of two free throws with 52 seconds left to lead 59-56. After Western New England forced another EC turnover, Colleen Furlong would get fouled with 22 seconds left and would net both free throws to give WNE their biggest lead of the game, at five points, 61-56. The Golden Bears would close out Endicott, holding the Gulls to just four fourth quarter points on their home floor to defeat Endicott by a final score of 61-56.

Inside the Lines:

• WNE erased a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter to come from behind and outscore Endicott 20-4 in the final ten minutes of the game to take down the Gulls 61-56.
• WNE saw three scores in double figures, with Tara Laugeni leading the way with 19 points on 8/14 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds and a steal on her old home floor. Colleen Furlong (12 pts.) and Shaina Cooney (10 pts.) would both lend helping hands for Western New England.
• The Golden Bears scored 7 of 11 buckets in the fourth quarter after collecting just three field goals on 18 shots in the third quarter.
• Sarah Dempsey led Endicott with 24 points on 9/18 shooting and seven rebounds.
• Western New England avenges their defeat on home court less than a month ago to the Gulls. WNE defeats Endicott on the road for the first time since the 2018–2019 season.

Up Next on the Schedule:
WNE returns to the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center on Wednesday, February 14 at 5:30 p.m. to take on the University of Hartford in non-conference action.