Women's Basketball Battles, Falls To Hartford, 69-63 (OT)

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The Endicott women's basketball team pushed Hartford to the brink, but eventually fell by a 69-63 score in Saturday afternoon's Conference of New England (CNE) overtime battle at Chase Arena.

Aleah Bracey (New Bedford, Mass.) led the Gulls with 17 points (6-17 FG, 3-4 FT) and also picked up two steals, two rebounds and an assist.

Mia McGarrity (Ridgefield, Conn.) nearly logged her first career double-double, as she posted 13 points (5-5 FG, 3-6 FT) and nine boards (five defensive, four offensive) in 30 minutes of action.

Emma Shinney (Wakefield, Mass.) turned in another solid performance with her 11 points (4-11 FG), six assists, and four rebounds, while Alyssa Garabedian (Cheshire, Mass.) harassed the Hawks with a six-point, 13-rebound, and four-steal afternoon.

Endicott ran out to a quick four-for-five start from the field (8-2 score) courtesy of two layups from Tricia Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.), a deuce from Tenley Wallin (Danbury, Conn.), and another layup from Garabedian.

After the Hawks responded with a mini run of their own, the Gulls closed out the quarter with a slim 12-11 lead.

Hartford opened the second quarter on a 10-5 run, but Wallin cut into the four-point deficit with a tough floater through traffic, bringing it back to a 21-19 game with 4:24 to play in the half.

Facing a 27-21 deficit with 1:12 remaining, back-to-back scores from McGarrity (floater) and Shinney (pull-up three-pointer) made it a 27-26 game, but the Hawks beat the buzzer with a drive to the rim to go up by three (29-26) to conclude the first half.

With the Hawks up 34-26 early in the third quarter, Endicott pieced together a 10-0 run (8:32-4:19) to retake a 36-34 lead. A triple from Bracey, a three-point play via a Shinney drive to the rim, a Garabedian second-chance layup, and finally a floater from Bracey put the Gulls back in front.

A few minutes later, the Blue and Green headed to the fourth quarter with a 44-38 lead thanks to a stepback jumper from Bracey, a Shinney drive to the bucket, and another tough layup for McGarrity down low.

The Gulls led by as much as eight (53-45) with 3:10 remaining in the contest, but the Hawks did not relent. They took a 54-53 lead with 28 seconds remaining after a dash inside and finish at the rim, and then went up by two (55-53) after converting one out of two free throws with six seconds remaining.

On their last chance down the court, Bracey was able to draw contact and headed to the line, needing to knock down both free throws to force overtime.

The freshman calmly strolled to the charity stripe and drilled both attempts, and with just 0.5 seconds remaining on the clock, the Hawks inbounded the ball but could not put up a shot attempt, sending the game into overtime.

In the five-minute overtime period, the Gulls trailed 63-58 with 1:08 remaining, but McGarrity knocked down two clutch free throws to make it a 63-60 game.

The Hawks then drilled a triple to go up 66-60 with just 14 seconds to play.

Bracey came up clutch again on the next trip down the floor, draining a three-pointer to keep the Blue and Green within striking distance.

However, Hartford made good on its late trips to the foul line, and ended up closing out a hard-fought 69-63 overtime win, handing the Gulls their second straight CNE loss.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls are 4-1 all-time against the Hawks.
• The two teams entered today tied for second place in the CNE standings.
• McGarrity led the Gulls with eight points (4-4 FG) in the first half.
• Garabedian's 13 rebounds and four steals both were career highs.
• McGarrity's nine rebounds also set a personal best.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (7-7, 3-2 CNE) heads to nearby Gordon next Wednesday for a 5:30 PM CNE matchup in Wenham. Hartford (7-7, 3-2 CNE) faces off against Curry on Wednesday in a 5:30 PM road matchup. 

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(Photo Credit - Bradley Griffin '28)