New Haven, Conn. -- Leading for all but eight minutes, the Adelphi University women's basketball team opened Northeast-10 Conference play with a 66-50 victory over the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University on the road on Wednesday night.

Sierra Clark and Calli Balfour tied for the Adelphi (2-1, 1-0 NE-10) lead with 16 points, while Clark posted her third double-double in as many games with 11 rebounds. Simone Hobdy chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds to the cause, while Sierra Schrader posted nine points and eight boards and Niajah Morgan added a well-rounded night of six points, six rebounds and five assists. The Owls (0-3, 0-1 NE-10) got a game-high 22 points from Taylor McLaughlin, who also pulled down 16 rebounds. 

The Owls scored the first four points of the game, but saw their last lead of the contest come at 9-5. Julia Gnieser knocked down a three-pointer off Morgan's first assist of the night to give the Brown and Gold a 13-10 lead, and the Panthers continued to lead by three, 17-14, at the close of the first 10 minutes. The home team quickly tied the score on a Maria Weselyj triple just 26 seconds into the second, and the two teams saw a pair of ties until Fallyn Stephens came off the bench to knock down a three with 3:39 until halftime to re-establish a four-point Adelphi lead, 28-24. In what was a tight opening half, the Owls made it a one-possession game at halftime, 32-29, as Imani Wheeler went to the basket for two with just four seconds on the clock.

Neither side could assert a run on offense to begin the second half, but Schrader responded to a four-point swing by the Owls and knocked down a three to make it a six-point game at 47-41 at the 3:41 mark. From there, the Panthers scored five of the last eight points of the period to go into the fourth holding a seven-point edge, 51-44. A 9-2 run over the first 3:34 gave Adelphi its largest lead of the game at 60-46, and the Panther defense held the Owls to just six total points in the quarter to come away with the 66-50 decision.

The Panthers are back in action on Saturday, Nov. 19, when they host the Yellow Jackets of American International at 1:30 pm in their 2016-17 home opener.

NOTES
- Adelphi held a 21-5 advantage in points off turnovers, as the Owls turned the ball over 19 times in the game.
- The Panthers won the battle of the boards, 52-35, including an 18-8 margin on offensive rebounds.

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About Adelphi Athletics:
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past seven seasons, has collected 20 regular season conference titles, 24 tournament championships, 29 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup three times (2013, 2014, and 2016), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

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