Feb. 25, 2006

Box Score

Garden City, N.Y. - Senior Carlyshia Hurdle closed out her regular season career with 25 points, going 7-for-7 from the charity stripe, to go along with 10 rebounds as the Adelphi University women's basketball team topped St. Thomas Aquinas, 73-59. The Panthers improve to 15-12 overall and 14-6 in the NYCAC. The Spartans drop to 11-16 and 9-9 in the league.

The Panthers opened up a quick 18-6 lead over the first 10 minutes of play. The Spartans rallied back on an 11-2 run capped by a three-pointer from Kayla White to close to within three, 22-19, with 5:03 remaining. Adelphi pulled ahead, with help from back-to-back beyond the arc shots from freshman Lisa Manetta to push its lead back to 10 points. The Panthers led 36-29 at the end of the half.

The Spartans gave the Panthers a scare in the second half, closing to within one on a jumper by Raven Brinkley with 16:33 on the clock. Sophomore Jordan Gambino drained a three-pointer to spark an 11-0 run from which STAC, who shot 28.6 percent in the half, could not recover. Adelphi realized its largest lead of the night, 67-50, after a made free throw from Hurdle with 2:40 left in regulation.

Sophomores Mary Lepore and Gianna Smith had 13 and 11 points, respectively. Manetta chipped in 12 points.

The Spartans were led by Kelly McManus with 13 points. Erika Ostrove had 10 points.

With the win, the Panthers hold onto the number three spot in the league and are guaranteed a home court advantage in the first round of the NYCAC Playoffs which take place on Wednesday, March 1. A complete bracket will be available at www.nycac.net.