Jan. 12, 2010

Box Score

Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University women's team suffered its fifth straight loss, dropping 59-52 contest to visiting UMass-Lowell tonight at the Center for Recreation & Sports. The Riverhawks improve to 9-5 and 5-5 in the conference, while the Panthers fall to 2-12 and 0-10 in the Northeast-10.

Sophomore Erika Cottle led the team with 15 points, as junior Ashley Caiafa also scored in double figures with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals.

The Panthers opened on a 9-2 run over the first three minutes of play, before the Riverhawks rallied back on a 9-0 run to take an 11-9 lead at 13:02. Adelphi fought back, outscoring UMass 10-2 over the next five minutes to hold a six point margin, 21-15, at 8:14. Both teams struggled down the stretch, but the Panthers held on to a five point advantage, 29-24, at intermission.

Adelphi maintained its lead in the opening minutes, despite four ties including 33-33 at 14:07. But then UMass took control pulling ahead on a 5-0 run, 38-33. Freshman Samantha Breidenbach scored all five of the next Panther points to knot the score again, 38-38, with 9:27 on the clock. But the Panthers seemed to run out of steam after that, with the Riverhawks surging ahead to a nine-point lead, 42-51, with 4:19 remaining in regulation. Back-to-back three pointers by Cottle did close the gap, 53-51, with a minute to go, but UMass outscored AU, 6-2, to hold on for the win.

Bianca Simmons led all scorers with 17 points, while Jen Valente chipped in 16 points. Sha'Nay Bushner pulled down a game-high 15 boards to go along with six points.

The Panthers return to action this Saturday, as they head to North Andover, Massachusetts to take on Merrimack College at 1:00 p.m.