Gritty Comeback Leads Women’s Basketball Past UNE, 58-50

BEVERLY, Mass. — Senior forward Sarah Dempsey (Windham, N.H.) poured in a season-high 30 points to help propel the Endicott women's basketball team past the University of New England (UNE), 58-50, on Tuesday evening in a Conference of New England (CNE) clash at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Dempsey went 8-of-15 from the floor and 13-of-18 at the free throw line alongside 15 rebounds to collect her second double-double of the season.

Emma Shinney (Wakefield, Mass.) also stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points (6-15 FG, 2-4 3PT, 3-5 FT), eight boards, and seven dimes.

The Nor'Easters gained an early double-digit lead (24-9) courtesy of a 10-3 scoring run. However, Endicott countered with a 10-4 scoring run over the final six minutes of the first half to trail 28-19 at the break.

In the third quarter, the Gulls stormed back with a 19-5 stretch to take a 38-36 advantage with 1:17 to play. The spurt was generated by Dempsey (10), Shinney (4), Alyssa Garabedian (Cheshire, Mass.) (3), and Libby Fleming (Bangor, Maine) (2). 

From there, Endicott orchestrated a 10-1 run to take a 50-43 lead with 2:40 to play. The run was produced by a triple and a layup from Dempsey, a Fleming lay-in, and a layup plus the free throw by Shinney. 

The Blue and Green later put the game on ice via clutch shooting at the charity stripe and a strong defensive effort to remain unbeaten in conference play. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• After her 30-point performance, Dempsey moved ahead of Gull greats, Heidi Stevens Fazzina '00 (1,429 points) and Nicole Duchesne '09 (1,444 points) to third all-time in scoring. 
• Dempsey now has 1,454 points, and only trails Emily Pratt '20 (2nd all-time; 1,472) and Melissa Tarpy '98 (1st all-time; 1,560 points) on the all-time leaderboard.
• Dempsey tied her previously set program records for most free throws made (13) and attempted (18) in a contest (Nichols, 2/1/23).
• Endicott caused 18 UNE turnovers, which translated to 16 points on the offensive end. 
• The Gulls have won eight straight games, including five home victories during that span.
• The Blue and Green converted 14 assists on 17 made field goals tonight.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (9-3, 5-0 CNE) hosts Western New England on Saturday, January 11 at 1:00 PM. UNE (6-6, 3-2 CNE) welcomes Roger Williams at 1:00 PM on Saturday.

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(Photo Credit - Kaeli Talora '25)