STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (4–4) rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit and held Endicott College (4–5) to just three fourth-quarter points to grind out a 41–39 non-conference women's basketball win on Mike McDevitt Court at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Seniors Logan Brown (Brunswick, Maine) and Elisabeth Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) set the tone early, combining for seven points in the opening frame as the Monks built a 13–10 lead after 10 minutes. Endicott answered in the second quarter behind eight points from Sofia Mazzotta (Billerica, Mass.), and the teams headed to the locker room deadlocked at 23–23.

The third quarter belonged to the Gulls. Saint Joseph's managed just four points on 2-of-13 shooting in the period, while Endicott pieced together enough offense to open up a 36–27 cushion and seize control heading into the final stanza.

Saint Joseph's flipped the script in the fourth. Brown buried back-to-back three-pointers to trim the deficit to three, and Madison Lebel (Hermon, Maine) calmly sank two free throws before a Stapelfeld layup capped a 10–0 surge and gave the Monks a 37–36 lead with just over seven minutes to play. Tenley Wallin (Danbury, Conn.) answered with a layup on the next Endicott possession, providing the Gulls with what would be their final lead at the 6:46 mark.

Both offenses then went ice cold, as the teams combined to shoot 0-for-14 from the floor over nearly five minutes. Brown finally broke through with a layup to put the hosts back on top, 39–38, with 1:31 remaining. Mazzotta went 1-for-2 at the line to tie the game at 39–all with 32 seconds left, but after a timeout the Monks bled the clock and Stapelfeld drove for the go-ahead layup. Endicott had one last look, but Mazzotta's buzzer-beater was off the mark.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Saint Joseph's outscored Endicott 14–3 in the final quarter, as the Gulls shot just 8.3% (1-12) from the floor and 0-for-4 from deep in the closing period.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Logan Brown – 17 points (6-16 FG, 4-12 3FG), 3 rebounds
• Elisabeth Stapelfeld – 15 points (7-15 FG), 5 rebounds, 2 assists
• Madison Lebel – 3 points, game-high 14 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block
• Abby Dube (Jr., Groveland, Mass.) – 4 points, 4 rebounds

LEADERS – ENDICOTT:

• Emma Shinney (Jr., Wakefield, Mass.) – 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals
• Tenley Wallin – 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
• Sofia Mazzotta – 9 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 9-2 all-time versus Endicott College. These two teams last met on December 13th, 2008 when the Gulls defeated the Monks by an 89-62 score in the Maine Maritime Academy Tournament.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will compete in the Shooting Touch Tournament at Williams College this weekend, starting with an 8:00 PM matchup with Eastern Connecticut State on Friday. The Monks will face either Wellesley or Williams on Saturday.