Wilmington, Del. -- A combined 38 points for Ashley Gomez and Calli Balfour helped push the Adelphi University women's basketball team to a 72-58 non-conference victory on the road at Goldey-Beacom College on Monday night. 

The 19 points were a career-high for Gomez, who shot 7-12 from the floor, while Balfour (8-16) was also at 50% shooting for 19 points. Balfour fell one rebound short of a double-double as she pulled down a team-high nine, while Samantha Brenner pulled down seven boards on a balanced night for the Brown and Gold. Freshman Haley Parks came off the bench for six points and five rebounds, while Sierra Clark chipped in eight points.

Unable to get a rhythm on offense, the Panthers fell behind 8-0 to start the contest before Samantha Brenner accounted for Adelphi's first bucket with 5:14 remaining in the first quarter. From that point, however, the Panthers embarked on a 14-2 scoring run which saw Gomez net six points to turn the early going around and lead 14-10. After Candince Berner sank a three with 27 second remaining for the Lightning's first bucket in over four minutes, Gomez put in another to give Adelphi a 16-13 lead at the end of the first.

The Panthers pushed the lead to a half-high nine points courtesy of an 8-0 scoring run that saw Sierra Clark, Emily Brandt and Parks combine for points to force Goldey-Beacom to call a timeout trailing 26-17 with 3:40 until the break. From that point, the home team put together an 8-4 scoring run to the end of the half, holding the Panthers to a 30-25 lead.

Seven straight points for Adelphi to open the third quarter -- featuring a Lauren Nuss fastbreak for two off her own steal and a deep trey off her hand on the next possession -- helped push the Panthers' lead to double figures at 37-25 with 7:29 to go. Although the Lightning continued to challenge the gap, Balfour sank her first three of the night to restore the double-digit lead at 49-39, and a Brenner bucket with 20 ticks on the clock gave Adelphi a 12-point lead back at 53-41. 

Adelphi held a double-digit lead for much of the fourth quarter, and a Tara Flynn three-pointer with 7:24 remaining increased the lead to a game-high 16 points. With 4:01 to play, the Lightning cut the lead to nine points, but from that point, the Panthers outscored the home team 10-5 to end the game, as consecutive threes from Balfour with under three minutes to play put the contest officially out of reach for the Lightning.

 The Brown and Gold return to the Center for Recreation and Sports on Wednesday, December 16 for a non-conference meeting with Queens College at 5:30 pm.

---

About Adelphi University Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past six seasons has collected 16 regular season conference titles, 21 tournament championships, 27 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 President's Cup twice (2013 and 2014), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

For the latest on Adelphi University Athletics, follow the Panthers at www.aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat.