Women's Basketball Pulls Out Gritty 60-55 Road Win At No. 20 WNE

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Endicott women's basketball team knocked off No. 20 Western New England, 60-55, in Saturday afternoon's Conference of New England (CNE) heavyweight matchup from Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Emma Shinney (Wakefield, Mass.) led all scorers with 21 points and also piled up four rebounds, three assists, and a steal. 

Tenley Wallin (Danbury, Conn.) poured in 15 points (6-10 FG, 1-2 3PT), while Sarah Dempsey (Windham, N.H.) recorded her seventh double-double of the season with a 13-point, 10-rebound showing. Dempsey also was lockdown on the defensive end, controlling the paint with three steals and two rejections.

The visiting Gulls opened up on fire, grabbing hold of a 9-2 lead right out the gate. Shinney highlighted the run with a triple and a fastbreak layup off of a pilfer. 

The hosts responded with a 10-0 run in the following 3:45 to reclaim a 12-9 advantage. Shinney snapped the run with a smooth pullup jumper from the free throw line to get the Gulls back on track offensively.

The top two teams in the CNE continued to go back and forth for the remainder of the first half. The Gulls eventually headed to the break with a 27-26 lead after Dempsey drained a sidestep baseline fadeaway at the buzzer.

In the third quarter, Wallin carried the Gulls' offense, as she shot 4-5 from the field and 2-2 from the line (11 points). She and the Gulls headed into the fourth with a six point lead (47-41).

The teams continued to trade baskets through most of the fourth quarter, as a Shinney jumper put the Gulls up 55-47 with 6:22 to play. A 6-0 spurt from the Golden Bears trimmed the Gulls lead to just two (55-53) with 2:06 on the clock.

A clutch offensive rebound from Katelyn Konareski (Milford, Conn.) set up a Dempsey second chance score to put the Gulls up by two possessions with just over a minute to play. After a few stops and some successful free throw shooting, the Blue and Green slammed the door shut for the impressive 60-55 road victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• No. 20 WNE secured the one seed in the CNE tournament, while Endicott locked up the second seed. The tournament begins this Tuesday, but both teams earned a bye and will host the semifinal rounds from their respective arenas on Thursday evening.
• The Gulls lead the all-time series, 22-14.
• Second ranked win for the Gulls in program history. The first came on March 6, 2020, when Endicott topped No. 12 Scranton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• WNE sees its 13 game win streak snapped. Their only other loss of the season came back on January 4 at UNE.
• Endicott stretched its win streak to 11, which is the longest since 2008-09 (14 games).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (20-5, 16-2 CNE) hosts the winner of Tuesday's Roger Williams and Suffolk CNE quarterfinal matchup on Thursday. No. 20 WNE (23-2, 16-2 CNE) awaits the winner of the Hartford versus UNE quarterfinal matchup for a Thursday semifinal round. 

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(Photo Credit - Kaeli Talora '25)