Feb. 11, 2009

Box Score

Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University women's basketball team held St. Thomas Aquinas to 35.6 percent shooting from the floor in a 69-58 victory Wednesday night at the Center for Recreation and Sports. With the victory, the Panthers improved to 11-11 overall and 8-4 in the East Coast Conference while the Lady Spartans fall to 6-16 and 3-10 in ECC play.

In the first 20 minutes of action, both teams were within six points of each other. The contest was tied at 11 with 14:28, on a three pointer by senior guard Lisa Manetta when Adelphi went on an 8-2 run on jumpers by four different players with 10:19 on the clock putting the Panthers on top, 19-13. Freshman guard Sylvia Davis scored seven of the Lady Spartans nine points over a 4:57 span, tying the contest up at 22 apiece with 5:22 remaining. Adelphi regained the momentum as Manetta drained her second three-pointer of the first half that put the Panthers lead back up to five. Once again, STAC had an answer as sophomore Theresa Dowling nailed a three that cut the Adelphi lead to two points, 27-25, with 3:42 left. The basket by Dowling was St. Thomas' last score of the first half as three turnovers and four missed shots sent the game into the locker room with Adelphi on top 31-25. For the Panthers, Manetta scored ten of her 15 points, in the first half as she was shot 4-of-7 from the floor including the two three pointers.

Freshman forward Theresa Foley and senior guard Serita Lee led the charge, as they combined scoring five of Adelphi's 11 points to open the second half putting Adelphi in front, 42-31, with 13:50. In a blink of an eye, St. Thomas trimmed Adelphi's lead to four points, 42-38, triggered by two Claire Wilson steals and four points scored by freshman forward Briana Sloper with 12:59. After a 30 second timeout called by coach Kelley Watts, the Panthers took control as they went on a 9-3 run over the next 2:48 minutes. In that stretch, senior guard Danielle Parks scored nine of her 11 points in the second half. The Lady Spartans never rebounded from Parks hot hand as they were unable to climb back into the ballgame. Adelphi would take its largest lead of the night, 69-54, on a Lee lay-up with 2:21 left in regulation and cruised to the 69-58 victory.

Also in double figures for the Panthers, wass Lee with 15 points. She also contributed 13 rebounds, eight of which were defensive, to preserve the win. St. Thomas Aquinas was led by Sloper who had a game-high of 19 points.

Next up, the Panthers will go on the road as they take on first place ECC rival Molloy College on Saturday, February 14 at 3:30 p.m.