BOSTON, Mass. – The Endicott women's basketball team played a strong second half but were unable to get in front of Emmanuel College and fell 57-51 in non-conference action. The host Saints never trailed Tuesday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center, dropping the Gulls to 4-4 overall.

Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.) led the way for Endicott with a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds while freshman Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) added 12 points and five boards. Sophomore forward Jordan Ferland (Charlestown, Mass.) was also in double-figures for Endicott netting 10 points to go along with eight rebounds. 

Senior guard Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, Mass.) posted team-highs with 15 points and eight rebounds for Emmanuel (6-3), who led by as many as 15 points early in the second half before Endicott went on a late surge.

A pair of free throws by freshman forward Vanessa Bramante (Stoneham, Mass.) gave the Saints a comfortable 46-33 lead with 9:02 left in the action but over the next four minutes, the Gulls were able to roll off an 11-0 run fueled by four points apiece from Crough and Whall.

A good jumper by Ferland made the game a one-point affair (47-46) with 4:21 left in the second stanza. That was as close as the Gulls would get, as the Saints would respond on the next possession when junior forward Laura Benvenuto (Wyckoff, N.J.) pulled up from behind the arc to drain a deep three-pointer. A Gull turnover and two free-throws from Lena Negri (Lancaster, Va.) opened up the host's advantage back to a comfortable 6 points, the advantage they would eventually win by.

In the first half, Emmanuel jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. The Gulls would regroup and get into the offensive flow of the game as senior guard Nicole Heffernan (Londonderry, N.H.) converted a layup with 10:52 left in the stanza to pull the Gulls to within three at 16-13. The Saints would close out the half on a 16-6 run to take a 32-19 lead into the halftime intermission. 

Endicott outrebounded the saints by a 41-34 margin, and had five blocked shots, three of them by Crough. Ferland and Whall each had two steals, while Heffernan had five swipes to go with three points, four rebounds, two assists and a block. Katelyn Wright (Sudbury, Mass.) and Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) combined for nine points and six assists for Endicott.

Bevenuto finished the game with 13 points on 4-7 shooting from the field while Negri chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds for Emmanuel.

Both teams are idle from NCAA play until after the winter break. Endicott resumes action on Thursday, January 5 when they host Salem State in a 7:00 PM contest in Beverly, Mass.

During the winter break, the Saints will travel to London, England to play in four exhibition games in the London South Bank Tournament beginning on Thursday, December 29.