Jan. 29, 2011

Box Score

Colchester, Vt. - The Adelphi University women's basketball team traveled to Colchester, Vt. to take on St. Michael's College in a conference match-up. The Purple Knights held AU to 24 first half points on their way to a 67-55 victory. St. Michael's improves to 9-8 and 7-7, while the Panthers drop to 7-12 and 4-11.

For the Panthers, freshman Jessica Kitrys led the way with 13 points and four rebounds, while sophomore Erika Cottle and senior Ashley Caiafa each tossed in nine points.

Throughout most of the first half both teams traded baskets and lead changes. With 11:42 left in the first half, SMC took a two-point lead after a jumper from Logan Pintka, which was then followed by a triple from Caiafa to give the lead back to AU. The Panthers trailed 15-13 and scored six straight points capped off by a lay-up from Kitrys to put Adelphi up four, 19-15, with 7:54 left on the clock. The Purple Knights closed the first half strong on an 11-5 run to take an eight-point halftime lead, 32-24.

The Panthers came out of the half and cut the Purple Knights' lead in half with baskets from Kitrys and sophomore Samantha Breidenbach. SMC would quickly extend their lead to double digits, 38-28, after a jumper from Nicole Adach. The Panthers would continue to come back and get within seven, 41-34, and would then eventually cut the lead to 47-43, off a three-pointer from Cottle with 8:04 left in regulation. A triple from SMC's Coreen Hennessy gave the Purple Knights another big lead, 54-43. Over the next 2:30 minutes AU went on a 10-0 run to get within one point, highlighted by a three from junior Amanda Campusano with 2:36 left. After Campusano's triple, SMC took control and ended the game on a 13-2 run to secure the victory.

The Panthers shot well from the field in the loss (46.9-percent) and held the Purple Knights to shoot just 38.3-percent. SMC held the edge on the board 34-31 and turned AU over 24 times.

For the Purple Knights, Pintka netted a game-high 16 points and grabbed nine boards, while Adach and Caitlin Quinn added 15 and 13 points, respectively.

The Panthers return to action on Wednesday, February 2 when they travel to take on Pace University for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.