Garden City, N.Y. – After honoring Kelly Mannix, Jenna Halaby, Anh-Dao Tran and Samantha Milhaven prior to the game, the Adelphi University women's basketball team used a strong second half effort to record a 69-56 Northeast-10 Conference victory against Saint Rose earlier this evening. The Brown and Gold checked at No. 2 in the first edition of the NCAA East Region rankings which were released earlier today, while also ranking No. 12 in the latest USA Today/Coaches Poll.

Two seniors put forth star efforts for Adelphi (23-3, 16-2 NE-10) on their night as Mannix finished the night with 19 points to lead all players, while Halaby chipped in 11. Calli Balfour and Ashley Gomez came off the bench for the Panthers and contributed 10 and nine points, respectively. Three players tallied 11 points for the visiting Golden Knights (11-14, 7-12 NE-10).

Saint Rose broke out to an early 14-9 lead in the first half, forcing Adelphi to play from behind for the duration. That lead was as large as six, when Gabie Polce netted a jumper to put the Golden Knights ahead 22-16, with 3:29 remaining. However, Adelphi chipped away from there in the closing minutes and a steal and a layup from Mannix with 23 seconds left afforded the Panthers the 25-24 advantage going into the half.

 The Panthers forced 13 Saint Rose turnovers and created 11 points off of them to help overcome just nine field goals made in a low-scoring first half. Mannix led the effort in the opening period with eight points that included 3-of-3 from the charity stripe, while Balfour came off the bench to contribute six points. The Golden Knights held a 19-11 advantage on the glass with Jamie Hutcheson hauling in four to go along with seven points. Keyontae Williams also added seven points.

The Brown and Gold continued the Mannix-led momentum into the second half with a 10-0 run to open the half and go up 35-24, capped off by a Samantha Brenner layup. The Golden Knights were able to cut the deficit to six points on a few occasions, however, Adelphi kept up the pressure to extend the lead to as many as 20 points. A late run by the visitors cut the Panther advantage to 11 with a minute to play, but Adelphi held strong down the stretch to come away with the win.

Next on the schedule for the Panthers is a short trip to Pace University this Saturday for a 1:30 pm league tilt.