REGIS COLLEGE TOPS ENDICOTT IN TCCC QUARTERFINAL GAME

Beverly, Mass. – Visiting Regis College upset the Endicott women’s basketball team for the second year in a row with a 56-54 The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Tournament quarterfinal victory inside MacDonald Gymnasium.   

The fifth-seeded Pride went on a 10-0 run in the closing minutes of the second half to erase a five-point deficit.  Endicott crawled back to within one with less than a minute to play and had the ball under its own basket down one with two seconds remaining, but a full court heave came up empty. 

Stephanie Crawford (Rockland, Mass.) paced the visitors with 19 points and three steals.  Freshman forward Claire Ramonas (Portland, Maine)added 13 points and six boards for Regis, who will travel to top-seeded Salve Regina on Thursday (Feb. 24).

Senior guard Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) led all scorers with 25 points including four 3-pointers in the loss.  Classmate Ashley Vitale (Wilmington, Mass.) finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 16 points and nine boards.

The first half featured five ties and pair of lead changes.  Vitale closed the half with a solo 4-0 run to give the hosts a five-point lead (26-21) entering the break.

Regis (16-10) quickly trimmed the deficit to just one in the opening minutes of the second half on a jumper by Teresa Busiek (Arlington, Mass.).  Crawford’s layup and Ramonas’ conventional three-point play put the Pride on top, 32-28, with just under 15 minutes to play. 

Endicott (16-9) countered with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to regain the lead at 36-32. 

Freshman guard Ashley Walenta (Plainfield, Conn.) converted a layup with 6:26 remaining to give the Gulls a 46-41 advantage, their largest of the half. 

The Pride responded with the decisive 10-0 run over the next 2:39 to take a 51-46 lead, one they would not surrender.

Ashley Wright drilled her third triple in a row to bring the Gulls within two before Crawford and Brittany White (Dorchester, Mass.) each connected once from the charity stripe to double the lead. 

Wright was fouled shooting a deep 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining and converted all three tries from the free throw line.

Endicott forced a turnover on the ensuing possession and took over with 11 seconds to go.

A 3-pointer by Wright was partially blocked by Ramonas with four seconds to play and gathered by White on the left wing.  The senior forward missed the first but hit the second from the line to give Regis a 56-54 lead with two ticks remaining before Crough’s desperation toss went begging.