MILTON, Mass. – A strong third quarter fueled Endicott College to a 69-63 victory over Curry College on Saturday afternoon conference women's basketball action at the Katz Gymnasium.

 The Colonels jumped on the Gulls early, outscoring them 11-9 over the game's first 10 minutes. Endicott responded in the second frame and built a 15-point cushion that ultimately proved to be the difference in the contest.

Endicott's Kaleigh Putnam (Wallingford, Conn.) led the Gulls' starters with 17 points while grabbing three rebounds, two steals, and one block. Cassandra Staplefeld (Brookline, N.H.) joined Putnam with 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting, including 3-for-9 from distance and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe. Emily Pratt (Gardner, Mass.) tallied 13 points on 4-for-10 from the field while adding seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks. Gabriella Coppola (Watertown, Mass.) rounded out the Endicott student-athletes in double figures with 13 points. The senior guard also registered eight rebounds, four assists, and one steal.

Emily Irwin (Billerica, Mass.) paced Curry with a game-high 28 points. The junior captain stuffed the stat sheet, registering nine boards, six steals, and three steals in 38 minutes. Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) tallied 14 points, nine rebounds, one steal, and one assist while Molly Plunkett (Quincy, Mass.) closed out the student-athletes in double figures with 11 points.

After a first quarter that saw an 11-9 Colonels lead, Endicott would use an 8-0 run to grab an 18-14 advantage with 4:20 left in the half. The Gulls were able to stretch the lead to as many as nine before the intermission, thanks to a layup by Stapelfeld with 46 ticks remaining. With four seconds left in the frame, Irwin went the length of the floor, pulled up from distance, and buried the shot to cut the Endicott lead to just five at the half, 31-26.

In the third quarter, the Gulls pumped the lead to 15 following a three by Pratt with 1:19 to go. Irwin later buried a layup in the final minute, but the Gulls still took a 56-43 lead into intermission.

Curry opened the final quarter with the first six points to cut the deficit to seven but Endicott did not let the lead slip under six for the rest of regulation as the Gulls took the contest, 69-63.  

Endicott shot 46 percent as a team and went 6-for-17 from three-point range. Curry checked in at 35 percent and hit five threes on the afternoon.

Curry (10-9, 6-6 CCC) will next travel to Nichols College on Tuesday, January 30 at 5:30 p.m. Endicott (10-9, 8-4 CCC) returns to action at Western New England on Tuesday, January 30 at 5:30 p.m.