SAINTS BEAT THE CLOCK TO EDGE ENDICOTT
Dec. 6, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Emmanuel's Iman Davis (Toms River, N.J.) banked a running lay-up high off the glass as time expired, lifting the visiting Saints past Endicott College, 78-77, in a controversial buzzer-beating thriller on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. The win improves Emmanuel to 3-3, while Endicott slips to 2-3 on the year.
The Saints quickly raced out to a 12-5 lead off a steal and fast-break jumper from sophomore guard Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.). The visitors pushed their lead to as many as 12 points in the first half, with the advantage capped off by another turnover and transition bucket by freshman Karin Bird (Lee, Maine).
The Gulls, trailing 27-15, rode the play of senior Nicole Duchesne (Plaistow, N.H.) as Endicott responded with an 18-3 run to take a 33-30 lead. The two teams traded points in the final four minutes of the half, with Endicott holding a 41-40 advantage at the intermission.
The second half featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes. The Gulls took their largest lead of the frame with 10:54 left in regulation as Brittany Kelleher (Wakefield, Mass.) notched a hard-fought two points in the paint to give Endicott a 62-57 lead. Emmanuel battled back from the deficit by rattling off a 9-2 burst. Freshman guard Breanna Ockimey (Philadelphia, Pa.) knocked down consecutive baskets, a three-pointer and a pull-up jumper, followed by a lay-in from Davis after a nice pass from LeBel.
Nicole Duchesne and Ashley Vitale (Wilmington, Mass.) scored on back-to-back possessions with just under three minutes remaining to regain the lead for the Gulls, 73-72. Davis then took the advantage back to the Saints' side as she fought to the line and hit on consecutive attempts. The see-saw affair continued as Endicott took the lead on a pair of free-throws by Vitale, and then Emmanuel took it right back off freebies from freshman forward Liz Brooks (Charlton, Mass.).
Trailing by one with under a minute left in regulation, the Gulls came up with a strong defensive stop, as Iman Davis was whistled for a double-dribble after she gathered up a loose rebound after her own missed shot. Endicott then fed senior Nicole Young (Rockland, Mass.) on the low post, where she attempted a turn-around jumper. The Saints were then called for a controversial foul sending the Endicott senior to the line with 19 tics left on the clock. Young knocked down both free throws to give the Gulls a 77-76 lead.
LeBel fired up a jumper from the left wing with just 12 seconds left. The attempt caromed off the back of the rim, with a melee ensuing in the paint for the loose rebound. The ball was eventually gathered by LeBel, who quickly signaled for a timeout. After the Emmanuel timeout, Endicott attempted to call one of its own, and it appeared to be granted. With each team at their respective benches, the officials overruled the timeout, quickly sending each squad back onto the floor for the final five seconds of regulation. Emmanuel inbounded the ball directly to Iman Davis near the top of the arc, where she swept to her left and banked a high-runner off the top of the glass as time expired. The bucket beat the buzzer to steal a 78-77 win for the Saints.
Emmanuel was led by Davis' game-high 21 points. Brooks chipped in with a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. LeBel also filled up the stat sheet, as she scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out six assists and had five steals in the win.
Endicott was paced by Duchesne's 21 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Vitale had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Gulls. Brittany Kelleher ended the day with eight points and four boards while Kaylin Burke (Leominster, Mass.) had five points to go along with eight assists.
Emmanuel turned 25 Endicott turnovers into 27 points, while the Gulls forced 22 giveaways and scored 23 points off of them. Endicott shot a near perfect 16-of-17 from the free-throw line (94.1%), and held a 40-36 advantage in rebounds.
Both Endicott and Emmanuel return to action on December 9th. The Saints look to win their second in a row, as they play at Lesley University. With this afternoon's win, Emmanuel Head Coach Andy Yosinoff now has a career total of 599 victories. Yosinoff will be looking for the 600th win of his career, when the Saints take on the host Lynx in an 8pm start at Buckingham, Browne and Nichols School on Tuesday night .