North Andover, Mass. -- Holding a slim 17-13 lead after the first quarter of play, the Adelphi University women's basketball team fell to a furious rally by the Merrimack College Warriors on Saturday afternoon, dropping a second straight game by a 63-42 decision.

The Panthers could get little going offensively and were plagued by turnovers, committing 22 over the course of the game which led to 27 Merrimack points. Sierra Clark paced the Brown and Gold (13-7, 6-6 NE-10) with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Ashley Weissmann had a game-high 23 points for the Warriors.

The score tied three times over the first four minutes of the game, before Clark went off for six straight points to give the Panthers a 12-6 lead. Clark scored 10 of her points in the first quarter, which saw five different players get on the board en route to a 17-13 advantage.

The tide turned in the second quarter, as the Warriors posted an 11-4 scoring advantage to take a 24-21 lead into the locker room. Off a 17-17 tie, Natalie Fekula sank a fade-away jumper to put the Panthers back on top, 19-17, with 7:56 to go but Weissmann knocked down a trey -- her first of seven straight points for the Warriors to close out the second -- to put her team on top for good.

An 11-2 scoring run for the Warriors opened the third quarter en route to a dominant 22-9 edge for the hosts in the period. The Warriors sank four of their six three-pointers in the quarter to post a 6-12 mark from behind the arc in the game, while the Panthers struggled from deep, going 0-12 in the contest.

The Panthers return to the court on Tuesday, January 26th when they take on Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. at 5:30 pm.

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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.

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