Box Score

Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University women's basketball team erased a double-digit first half deficit but was outlasted by Eckerd College and fell 68-57 in non-league action at the Center for Recreation and Sport on Sunday. The Tritons greeted the Panthers with a 12-0 run to open the game, but despite closing the gap to just five points at the half, Adelphi could not reclaim the lead. With the loss, the Panthers slip to 4-7 and Eckerd improved to 7-1.

Freshman Kelly Mannix led the way for the Panthers with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and senior Amanda Campusano had a team-best 12 points. Sophomore Sade Jackson chipped in 10 points, while classmate Jessica Kitrys scored eight points and saw her streak of six straight games in double figures come to an end.

For Eckerd, Kati Rausberg led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from downtown. Emilie Hesseldal scored 16 points while going 8-of-11 from the free throw line, and Linsey Niles added 15 points while grabbing nine rebounds.

The Tritons jumped out of  the gate to a 12-0 lead within the first four minutes of play, and held Adelphi without a field goal until Kara Tancredi laid in the host's first bucket at the 13:56 mark. Eckerd's largest lead of the game came at 14:15 on Rausberg's second 3-pointer of the day that gave the Tritons a 16-2 lead.

The Panthers steadily clawed back into the game, pulling within 10 for the first time on a Mannix jumper with 10:23 left in the half. As the half wound down, Adelphi used a 9-0 run to cut Eckerd's lead to three points, but a Triton layup just before the buzzer gave the visitors a 34-29 lead at the half.

Eckerd's advantage bounced between three and 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half as Adelphi worked to get to the free throw line and keep the game within reach. However, a six minute stretch without a field goal put the Panthers in a nine point hole with 2:35 to play and forced the hosts to foul and send the Tritons to the line. Eckerd would go 8-for-14 from the stripe in the final two minutes which proved enough to secure a 68-57 final score.

The Panthers have a short hiatus from game action over the holiday break and return to Northeast-10 competition at Merrimack on Tuesday, January 3 at 5:30 p.m.