Second half effort not enough, Gulls edged by Lions in ECAC Quarters
March 4, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - Emerson College had two players record double-doubles as the No. 6 seeded Lions defeated the Endicott College Gulls, 76-66, in the Quarterfinals of the ECAC Tournament held in Beverly, Mass. on Wednesday night. Emerson's Maude Okrah (Rutland, Mass.) recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds while Lauren Vassallo chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Lions. Endicott wraps up its season at 23-6 overall, a program record for wins in a season.
Endicott trailed right from the start as the Lions quickly built a 7-0 lead on a Vassallo layup at the 17:22 mark of the first half. The Gulls would rally as Kaylin Burke's (Leominster, Mass.) gave the Gulls their first lead of the contest at 12-11 nearly nine minutes later.
The two teams would trade baskets and the lead seven times in the next five minutes before a Bri Papa (Camillus, N.Y.) three pointer was followed by a Maude Okrah layup to give the Lions a four point lead at 23-19. The Gulls would enter the half trailing 27-22 as a pair of Ceciley Chisholm (Lexington, Mass.) freethrows with no time on the clock left the Gulls facing the five point deficit.
There was one tie in the half while the lead changed hands eight times. Emerson held the edge 14-8 in points in the paint in the first frame while also scoring nine points off 10 Endicott turnovers. The Gulls were able to force 17 turnovers by the Lions but were only able to come away with six points. Endicott was held to just 23.3% shooting (7-of-30) in the first half while Emerson shot a solid 40% from the field (12-of-30).
Endicott was able to cut into the lead early in the second half as an Ashley Vitale (Wilmington, Mass.) layup made the score 31-27 a minute into the frame. The Lions would respond with a 13-5 run to build their lead up to 12 points at 44-32 on a Rachel Kaye (Wakefield, Mass.) score from downtown. Endicott's ensuing 5-0 run to get the lead back down to seven would not be enough as Emerson would charge ahead, building an 18 point lead at 55-37.
The Gulls would begin to chip away over the next four minutes as Chisholm sandwiched a pair of layups around a Bri Papa three pointer to make it a 10 point game, 62-52, at the eight minute mark. Endicott would continue to apply pressure and chip away, trailing by only three as Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) would hit a pair of freethrows with 2:35 remaining in the game. That would be as close as Endicott would get as the Lions closed out the game on an 11-4 run to move onto the ECAC Semifinals with a 76-66 victory.
Emerson held the edge in points scored inside the key in the second half as well, outscoring the Gulls 18-16 in the paint. The Gulls were able to score 13 points off turnovers while shooting a much improved 44.4% (16-of-36) in the second half. Unfortunately for Endicott, the Lions also improved on their shooting going 15-of-27 (55.6%) from the field in the frame.
For the game, the Gulls were held to 34.8% shooting from the field including going 5-of-17 from beyond the arc. The Gulls were outrebounded 52-30 but only committed 17 turnovers. Endicott had 10 steals on 27 Emerson turnovers but only held the Lions to 47.4% shooting from the field and almost 50% from three point land (7-of-15).
The Gulls were led by senior Nicole Duchesne (Plaistow, N.H.) who had 21 points. Ceciley Chisholm saw her streak of double-doubles end in the postseason as she had 17 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds and four steals. Senior tri-captains Duchesne, Nicole Young (Rockland, Mass.), and Jenna Cosgrove (Sharon, Mass.) all played in their final collegiate game for the Gulls.
Emerson received 21 points from Bri Papa who connected on 6-of-10 three point field goal attempts. Kathy Andrade (Hull, Mass.) chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds while Lauren Zaniboni (San Diego, Calif.) came off the bench to score eight points, grab nine rebounds, and block five shots.
The Gulls have been eliminated from postseason play and closes out its season at 23-6. Emerson improves to 21-8 and will move onto the ECAC Semifinals to face WPI who defeated Colby-Sawyer, 64-44, in their semifinal matchup. The game will be played at a time to be determined at WPI on Saturday, March 7th.