Jan. 12, 2008

Box Score

Garden City, N.Y. - Junior forward Serita Lee (Freeport, N.Y.) led a solid offense with a career-high 19 points and 14 rebounds as the Adelphi University women's basketball team topped Queens College, 66-53, on Saturday night at Woodruff Hall. The Panthers end a four-game slump to improve to 6-7 overall and 4-2 in the ECC. The Lady Knights fall to 4-10 and 2-5.

Four of Adelphi's five starters scored in double figures with senior forward Gianna Smith registering 18 points along with 11 boards. Senior guard Mary Lepore (Manhasset, N.Y.) and freshman guard Lekesha Harris tallied 13 and 11 points, respectively.

The Panthers got off to a rocky start as they allowed the Lady Knights to open on a 7-2 run. Lepore knotted the score at nine on a free throw at 12:52 and Adelphi never looked back. Lepore, Lee and Smith combined for 30 of the team's 34 first-half points, shooting 53.8 percent from the field. The Panthers largest lead of the night, an 18 point advantage, came with 1:25 remaining as they coasted to a 34-19 margin at the end of the half.

The Lady Knights, who shot an improved 46.7 percent in the second half, actually outscored the Panthers 34-32, but were unable to break the double digit deficit. Trailing by 17 with 2:51 to go, Queens rallied on a 10-4 run to close to within 10, 62-52, with less than a minute to go.

Adelphi held a 45-30 rebound advantage. The Panthers also tallied 12 steals, with Lepore tying a career-best of six and Lee picking up a career-high of five.

Queens was led by Amanda Bartlett with 12 points. Jennifer Robbins had a team-best 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.

The Panthers continue their conference schedule on Wednesday, January 16, as they play host to Dowling College at 7:30 p.m. The team will also be collecting toiletry items and canned food as part of its Kitchen Soup Drive. Items can be dropped off in the main lobby of Woodruff Hall.