Dec. 22, 2008

Box Score

Garden City, N.Y. - Tied with #7-ranked Stonehill College through the first half, the Adelphi University women's basketball team was unable to hold-off a late second half rally, falling 67-55 in a non-conference match-up at the Center for Recreation & Sports. The Skyhawks improve to 9-1, while the Panthers fall to 5-5.

Freshman Theresa Foley scored 15 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Panthers, followed by senior Serita Lee with 14 points and eight boards.

Stonehill took the early lead, 15-5, on a three-pointer by Kristen McWhirter at 11:26. The Panthers responded with a 13-2 run to take their first lead, 18-17 at 7:25 on a made basket by Lee. The Skyhawks pulled ahead by three before the Panthers pulled ahead again, 23-21, on two free throws by senior Jasmine Travers. Adelphi led by as much as three down the stretch with the game tying five times in the final five minutes of play including at intermission, 30-30.

The game remained close in the second half with several more lead changes and eight more ties, the last with the score knotted at 45 with 11:40 left to play. Stonehill shot 53.8 percent in the half and began to widen its margin, 57-47, with 6:28 left in regulation. The Panthers closed the gap to six points, 59-53, on a layup by sophomore Ashley Caiafa with 1:56 on the clock, but the Skyhawks went 6-for-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch to maintain the win.

Adelphi had eight steals and forced 19 Stonehill turnovers, but were outrebounded 43-32. The Panthers shot 37.3 percent in the contest, compared with 43.9 percent for the Skyhawks.

Stonehill had four players in double figures, led by McWhirter with 17. Kelsey Simonds had 16 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Emily Rousseau with 12 points and six assists. Bethany Tighe pulled down a game-high 12 boards to go along with 10 points.

The Panthers take a break for the holidays, before returning on December 29 to play host to Assumption College at 6:00 p.m.