Beverly, Mass. – Visiting Emmanuel turned 30 Endicott turnovers into 39 points en route to a 74-67 win in non-conference women's basketball action at MacDonald Gymnasium. Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) scored 26 points for the Saints, who improve to 3-3 on the season. Endicott was paced by a career-high 26 points from Ashley Vitale (Wilmington, Mass.).
Emmanuel's full-court pressure resulted in 17 steals and turned Endicott over 15 times in each half. The Saints capitalized on their opportunities, outscoring the hosts 20-4 in fast break points. Junior guard Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, Mass.) added 12 points and seven rebounds for Emmanuel.
Despite the turnovers, Endicott (5-2) kept the game close throughout by shooting 42.9% from long range. Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) chipped in 22 points on seven of 11 shooting for the Gulls. The senior guard was a career-best 6-for-8 (75%) from beyond the arc.
Classmate Brittany Kelleher (Wakefield, Mass.) pulled down a game-high 11 boards, her third double-digit rebounding effort in a row, while sophomore guard Jen McBrien (Medfield, Mass.) dished out a career-high five assists in the loss.
Vitale hit a baseline jumper midway through the first half to give Endicott its largest lead of the game at 22-13 lead. Emmanuel countered with a 12-4 run over the next 4:30 to close the gap to just one.
Wright responded by drilling a three-pointer and converting a pair from the charity stripe to put the Gulls on top, 31-25, with just over four minutes remaining in the first-half.
The visitors chipped away at the deficit and, after a Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) layup in the final minute, took a one point lead into the break.
Vitale scored Endicott's first six points of the second-half to put the Blue and Green on top by three with just under 17 minutes remaining. Kirwan answered with her only three-pointer of the day to even the game at 39-39.
With just over ten minutes remaining, Wright stole the ball at midcourt and nailed a triple from the left wing to give the Gulls their largest lead of the second-half, 50-45. Junior guard Jade Santos (Plymouth, Mass.) answered with a layup and a conventional three-point play to tie the game and swing momentum back in Emmanuel's favor.
The Saints rattled off an 8-0 run over the next 2:07 to take the lead for good. The Gulls trimmed the lead to one on a Vitale free throw, but LeBel answered with a three-pointer on the other end to extend the lead to four with 4:49 remaining.
Emmanuel made seven of ten free throws down the stretch to pick up the victor, halting Endicott's four-game win streak in the process.
Vitale's 26 points eclipsed her previous career-high of 25, set last year in an 82-70 win over Regis.
Endicott takes two days off before hosting Keene State on Tuesday at 7:00 pm. Emmanuel hosts Amherst (No. 1 ESPN/USA Today, No. 1 d3hoops.com) on Tuesday (Dec. 7) at 5:30 pm.