Garden City N.Y. – Checking in at ninth in the USA Today Division II poll this week, the Adelphi University women's basketball team returned to the Center for Recreation and Sports on Wednesday evening for a Northeast-10 contest against Le Moyne. The Panthers were challenged with a strong first-half performance by the 'Phins, but came away with a strong second half to take an 87-64 victory. 
 
Adelphi (20-2, 13-2 NE-10) was led by senior Kelly Mannix who earned double-figure points with 25, followed by second leading-scorer Ashley Gomez who came away with 18 points, nearly missing a double-double with eight rebounds. Balfour contributed 11 points just short of a triple-double with nine assists and eight rebounds. 
 
Le Moyne's lead scorer, Vandell Andrade hit double-double figures, scoring 19 total points, and 11 rebounds. Alex Marple and Tessa Pucello combined for 21 total points for the Dolphins in the loss.

The first half opened with a Le Moyne layup five seconds from tip-off. Quick to respond, Adelphi answered with a Brenner layup at 19:34 to tie the score 2-2.  After a three-minute battle, the Dolphins locked into the lead position at 16:06 with a 10-7 score. Mannix rallied back-to-back threes, to close the point gap for Adelphi at 15:20 to reach a tie once more.

The Green and Gold spread the lead to seven with 10:41 remaining in the first half. With combined Panther efforts, Mannix, Brenner and Balfour scored a total nine points in the duration of three minutes to challenge Le Moyne with a 27-24 close score at 7:18. At 1:25 a Tran layup, pulled the Panthers up to a one-point gap for a 30-29 score. Le Moyne found room for a three-pointer with 13 seconds remaining. On final possession, a Flynn three-pointer shut out the first half. At halftime, the Dolphins held a 36-32 lead.
 
Twenty seconds into the second half, a Le Moyne layup kept their lead on the board. Halaby took the opportunity with back-to-back layups for the Panthers at 17:30 closing the Dolphin's lead to two. The Green and Gold continued their lead role, before a Brenner layup at 16:54 tied the score 38-38, followed with a free throw giving the Brown and Gold the lead. The Dolphins challenged for points over the duration of five minutes, but were left with minimal shot opportunities.

From a tie score at 44 apiece, Adelphi committed a 16-2 run to lead 60-44. In the following three minutes, Le Moyne fired back with nine total points for a 71-55 score. The Panthers continued to up the lead, and closed the game with an 87-64 decision.
 
The team will return to action on Tuesday, February 10 as they host American International College in NE-10 action at 5:30 p.m. in the Center for Recreation and Sports. For a free HD broadcast, courtesy of TD Bank, visit aupanthers.tv. To follow along with livestats, click here.