Women's Basketball Completes Comeback To Defeat Gordon, 81-75

WENHAM, Mass. — The Endicott women's basketball team came from behind to defeat crosstown rival Gordon, 81-75, in Wednesday evening's Conference of New England (CNE) matchup from inside the Bennett Center.

Aleah Bracey (New Bedford, Mass.) led the Gulls with a game-high 27 points (7-18 FG, 7-13 3PT, 6-6 FT) from the field. 

Tricia Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) finished her night with a 25-point (10-15 FG, 1-1 3PT, 4-6 FT), eight-rebound, four-assist, four-steal, and two-block highlight fest. 

Emma Shinney (Wakefield, Mass.) also poured in 18 points (4-8 FG, 1-2 3PT, 9-17 FT), dished out five assists, secured three boards, and picked up four steals in the win.

After a back-and-forth first quarter that featured seven lead changes, the Fighting Scots closed on an 8-4 run to bring an 18-14 lead to the second.

Then, in the second, some two-man action between Shinney and Wladkowski brought the Gulls back to within three (31-28, 2:50), nearing halftime. However, the Fighting Scots once again finished the quarter off strong, pushing their lead back to six (36-30) going into halftime.

At the break, Wladkowski led the Gulls with 11 points (5-7 FG, 1-2 FT), while Shinney boasted a solid stat line of seven points (1-3 FG, 5-8 FT), four steals, two rebounds, and an assist.

With the Scots up 43-36 in the third quarter, the tandem of Wladkowski and Shinney swung some momentum in Endicott's favor. Wladkowski came up with a big block on the defensive end, and Shinney capped off a fastbreak, and-one layup on the other end to get the Gulls back within four (43-39). 

The next two trips down, Shinney and Wladkowski drilled back-to-back triples to give Endicott its first lead since the first quarter (45-43, 5:13 Q3).

Then, at the 3:01, 2:02, and 1:33 marks, Bracey knocked down three consecutive catch-and-shoot trey balls to help push Endicott's lead to 12 (63-51) heading into the fourth.

The visiting Gulls kept on rolling through the majority of the fourth, but Gordon made a late push to close the gap down to five (80-75) with 11 seconds remaining. Tenley Wallin (Danbury, Conn.) knocked down the second of her two free throws to make it an 81-75 game, and the Gulls successfully killed off the final 10 seconds to close out their road win.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls lead the all-time series against the Scots, 37-15.
• Endicott outscored Gordon by a whopping 33-15 in the third quarter to take control of the contest.
• Wladkowski's 25 points set a new career high. 
• Bracey also set a career high, and finished one triple shy of the program's single-game record (eight).
• Shinney's 17 free throw attempts fell one shy of the single-game program record (18).
• Alyssa Garabedian (Cheshire, Mass.) led the Gulls with a +10 in +/-.
• 81 points scored is a season-high for the Blue and Green.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (8-7, 4-2 CNE) welcomes Suffolk to MacDonald Gymnasium on Saturday for a 1 PM CNE matchup. Gordon (4-11, 2-4 CNE) welcomes Curry to the Bennett Center for a 1 PM tipoff on Saturday. 

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(Photo Credit - Sammy Lacorcia '27)