Feb. 13, 2008

Box Score

Garden City, N.Y. - Senior Mary Lepore (Manhasset, N.Y.) drained 5-of-10 from beyond the arc en route to a 21 point performance to lead the Adelphi University women's basketball team to a 73-60 win over Mercy College tonight at Woodruff Hall. The Panthers improve to 11-11 and 9-6 in the ECC, while the Mavericks drop to 6-16 and 6-10 in the league.

Senior Gianna Smith (Hempstead, N.Y.) recorded 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior Serita Lee (Freeport, N.Y.) tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mavericks took an early 5-2 lead at 17:18 on two made free throws by Ashley Finnegan. Mercy went to the line 14 times in the first half, compared with just seven for Adelphi. Junior Lisa Manetta (Glendale, N.Y. knocked down a three-pointer to spur a 13-4 run which put the Panthers up by six, 15-9, at 13:46. Mercy responded on a 10-5 rally to close the gap, 20-19, with 7:33 left in the half. It remained a one-poing game, 31-30, with 1:55 to go as Lepore scored five of the final seven Panther points to give the team a 38-33 cushion at the half.

Early in the second half Mercy again closed the gap, 40-39, at the 18:01 mark. The Panthers took charge, outscoring the Mavericks 16-5 over the next seven minutes to lead by 12 on a jumper by Lee. Adelphi maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest, leading by as much as 15 points in the final minutes.

Adelphi outrebounded Mercy, 50-37, on the night. The Panthers shot 41.4 percent from the field, compared with 35.0 percent for the Mavericks.

Christina Baxter accounted for half of Mercy's points, pouring in a game-high 30 to go along with five assists. Delmara Reece had 11 rebounds.

The Panthers are back in action this Saturday, February 16, when they host the University of New Haven at 5:30 p.m. Adelphi is participating in the WBCA's "Think Pink" campaign and are encouraging all fans to wear pink to the game.