CNE SEMIFINALS: No. 3 Western New England Holds Off No. 2 Endicott, 66-61

BEVERLY, Mass. — The second-seeded Endicott women's basketball team fell to third-seeded Western New England, 66-61, in the Conference of New England (CNE) Tournament semifinal round on Friday night at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Tricia Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) compiled a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds to lead the Gulls. It also marked her fifth straight game with 10+ points. 

Tenley Wallin (Danbury, Conn.) added 12 points and five rebounds, while Aleah Bracey (New Bedford, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points.

Emma Shinney (Wakefield, Mass.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, alongside seven assists, three rebounds, and three steals.

SECOND HALF

Leading 49-45 in the fourth quarter (9:37), the Golden Bears produced a 7-0 run to take a 56-45 (+11, 5:34) advantage on the scoreboard — the largest for either team — and held on the rest of the way to punch their ticket to the CNE Championship.

Endicott never backed down, however, as the Gulls brought the matchup within two possessions on four separate occasions down the stretch.

With under two minutes remaining, Shinney made it a 62-57 game with a pull jumper at the 1:26 mark. 

The Golden Bears answered with a driving layup on the other end at 1:04 before Wallin countered with a gritty layup of her own with 51 ticks on the clock (64-59).

Sofia Mazzotta (Billerica, Mass.) inched Endicott closer with a pair of free throws to cut it to a three-point deficit (64-61, 0:42), but back-to-back missed three pointers by the Gulls and two free throws from Western New England spelled the difference. 

Mazzotta finished the contest with eight points and four rebounds. 

FIRST HALF

Trailing 30-25 with 4:38 remaining in the second quarter, the Gulls produced a 7-0 run to erase their largest deficit of the half.

Shinney started the scoring with a 1-for-2 showing at the line (3:28) before Wladkowski splashed a wide-open top of the key three (3:03) to bring the score within one (30-29).

Mazzotta followed with a game-tying free throw at the 2:19 mark and a tough take on the fast break to push the hosts ahead, 32-30, with 2:05 to play.

Western New England responded with a pair of free throws with 31 seconds remaining to deadlock both teams at 32-32 heading into the break.

The first quarter wasn't much different, as both teams were even on the scoreboard at 19-all.

Bracey and Wladkowski paced Endicott in the opening 20 minutes with eight points each.

Wallin also contributed six points, while Mazzotta (4), Shinney (4), and Mia McGarrity (Ridgefield, Conn.) rounded out the scoring (2 points).

In total, the first half featured eight ties and 10 lead changes.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Golden Bears improved to 9-4 on the road this season.
• Western New England led by as many as 11 points twice in the contest (60-49, 3:34).
• Shinney logged her fifth straight game with at least 10 points and five assists.
• The biggest scoring run for either team was only seven points.
• Western New England's +6 differential in the third quarter (17-11) was the high-water mark in the matchup.

WHAT'S NEXT

Third-seeded Western New England (20-7) will play first-seeded Johnson & Wales in the CNE Championship on Sunday, March 1 at 1 PM in Providence, Rhode Island.

Second-seeded Endicott season comes to a close at 17-9 overall. 

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(Photo Credit - Michael Kiselka '29)