O’DWYER, DALEY PACE SAINTS IN 65-62 WIN AT ENDICOTT

BEVERLY, Mass. – Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) and Liz Daley (Sharon, Mass.) combined for 42 points to lead the Emmanuel Women's Basketball Team in a 65-62 win over Endicott College on Tuesday night.  The Gulls, who were fighting for their first-ever win over Emmanuel in program history, battled throughout, but came up short in the non-conference action played at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Saints, ranked 18^th in the latest USA Today Poll and 20^th in the most recent D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll, improve to 8-1 on the season and run their program record against Endicott to 16-0.  With the 2012 portion of their schedule complete, the Endicott College Gulls will enter the new year with a 6-2 record.

Emmanuel senior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) led all players with 22 points, just over her season average of 20.0, and 15 rebounds, collecting her fourth double-double of the year. O'Dwyer went 9-18 from the floor and was a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line, helping a Saints team that shot just under 45% from the field for the game.

Along with O'Dwyer, Daley powered the Saints, scoring her career high.  Daley poured in 20 points, going 7-9 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 2-4 from behind the arc. The junior forward also hauled in 8 rebounds and dished out 5 assists in just 20 minutes of action.

Jennifer White (Lisbon, N.H.) led the Gulls with 16 points on 4-7 shooting and 2-4 from the three-point line.

The Saints used an 11-0 run to open up a 13-4 lead through the first seven minutes of play, but Endicott was able to tie the game at 17, before Daley helped her team climb back in front. Daley was perfect in the first half, 4-4 from the field, 2-2 from downtown and 3-3 from the free-throw line for 13 points and the Saints led 31-23 with 4:30 left to play in the half.

That was the last time the visitors would score before the break, however, as Endicott used a 13-0 run to end the half ahead 35-31. The run included a three-pointer by Kayleen Whall (Foxboro, Mass.) and three free-throws by White who fouled on an attempt from downtown. Whall came off the bench to score 13 points for the Gulls, while grabbing six rebounds.

Emmanuel again came out firing in the second half, needing less than six minutes to reclaim an eight point lead, thanks to multiple jumpers by O'Dwyer and Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H.), who finished with twelve points in the game.

Senior captain Jen McBrien (Medfield, Mass.) and the Gulls did not fade, and several fast breaks led by McBrien, who had eight assists in the contest to lead all players, helped the Gulls tie the game at 54-all with under nine minutes remaining.

Junior forward Samantha Crough (Cohasset, Mass.), the final Gull in double figures with 12 points, gave Endicott the lead again with a layup with just over a minute to play, but O'Dwyer answered seconds later and Emmanuel got a big stop down the stretch on a steal by Laura Benvenuto (Wyckoff, N.J.), one of her game-high three thefts.

Each team was 12-28 in the first half, good for a 42.9% from the floor. The Gulls cooled off after the break, however, shooting 35.7% in the second half.   Emmanuel improved to 45%, in the second period. The Gulls hit 5-12 (41%) from long-range in the contest, with the Saints going just 2-8.

White led the Gulls with seven boards, but the Saints bested the hosts 39-29 on the glass. Crough had a pair of blocks for the Blue and Green, as did Bujnowski and O'Dwyer for the Saints.

Emmanuel is now off for the holiday break, but will return to action on December 30th. The Saints will travel to Thousand Oaks, California for games against UC Santa Cruz and the University of Scranton.  The Gull's next contest is slated for January 2^nd at Salem State in a 5:30 PM.

- Release courtesy of Endicott College Sports Information