Feb. 17, 2005

Box Score

Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University women's basketball team avenged and early season loss by defeating the University of Bridgeport, 67-55, on Thursday night at Woodruff Hall. The Panthers have won their last three contests, improving to 14-11 overall and 13-9 in the NYCAC. The Purple Knights fall to 18-6 on the season and 18-6 in the league.

Senior Melanie Mangone (Middle Village, N.Y.) had a team-high 17 points along with six steals to lead the Panthers. Junior Carlyshia Hurdle (Brentwood) registered her fourth straight double-double with 13 points and 14 boards.

After three ties and eight lead changes in the first half, Adelphi pulled out to an eight point lead, 28-20, with 5:01 remaining. The Panthers held the Purple Knights to just 27.8 percent from the field and forced 10 turnovers which the converted into 15 points. Senior Meranne Whitney (Nashua, N.H.) led Adelphi, tallying 10 of her 16 points in the first stanza. The Panthers also held a 29-26 rebound advantage with freshman Gianna Smith (Hempstead, N.Y.) pulling down 6 of her 10 boards in the half. At intermission, Adelphi held a 35-24 lead.

The Panthers continued its run, outscoring the Purple Knights 11-3 in the first five minutes of the second half to lead 46-27. UB fought back on a 13-3 run capped by a jumper by sophomore Cherhara Shields (Woodland, Calif.) at 10:19 to trail 49-40. Adelphi responded on a 12-4 run to open the lead back to 17 points, 61-44, at 6:54. The Purple Knights only managed to close to within 10 points as senior Tamarra Richardson (Brockton, Mass.) scored the final basket to give the Panthers a 67-55 victory.

The Purple Knights were led by senior Krista Ross (North Canton, Ohio) with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Junior Megan Jones (Yintah, Utah) added 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

This has been a good week for the Panthers as they convincingly knocked off the top two teams in the league. On Tuesday night, Adelphi defeated #1 St. Thomas Aquinas, 72-53. With tonight's win over #2 Bridgeport, the Panthers should secure a NYCAC Tournament bid.

Adelphi takes the weekend off before returning to action next Wednesday, February 23, as they travel to Oakdale, N.Y. to face Dowling College. Game time is 5:00 p.m.