Garden City, N.Y. -- In a battle of nationally-ranked clubs on Wednesday night, the Adelphi University women's basketball team took down the visiting Falcons of Bentley University, 62-60, inside the Center for Recreation and Sport.

The Panthers, ranked No. 25 in the latest edition of the WBCA Coaches' Poll released this week, bested the No. 15-ranked Falcons for the third straight time to remain the only team undefeated in NE10 play.

Adelphi (14-2, 9-0 NE10) was led on offense by 20 points and 10 rebounds from Sierra Clark, 17 points and 15 rebounds from Calli Balfour and 11 points from Julia Gnieser in the starting five, while Natalie Fekula chipped in nine points and six rebounds in 18 minutes of bench action. The Falcons (12-4, 8-1 NE10) got a game-high 24 points from Macchi Smith, while Adelphi's defense limited All-America forward Jen Gemma to just eight points to go along with her game-high 18 rebounds.

Balfour and Clark combined to get the Panthers off to a quick start, as they scored eight points in the first two-plus minutes to give the home team an 8-2 lead. While the Falcons hit back to score the next six to tie the game at 8-8, Adelphi was quickly back on top thanks to a 7-2 run that saw Balfour score five to lead 15-10 with 1:48 to go, but saw the lead whittle to one, 15-14, by the end of the period. The game later saw three ties in the first five minutes of the second period, the last coming at 20-20, but a Clark three kicked off a 10-3 ending Adelphi stretch that saw Fekula score five points to give the Brown and Gold a 30-23 halftime edge. 

Back-to-back treys from Gnieser saw her answer Bentley's early third-period scoring for a lead of a game-high nine, but the Falcons again responded quickly, as they scored the next nine to knot the game at 36-36 with 3:39 left in the third. Another Gnieser shot from deep kept Bentley at bay briefly, but the visitors finished the period strongly and scored seven of the final nine points to take a 43-41 lead headed to the fourth. 

Undaunted, Adelphi scored seven of the first nine points of the final frame to lead by three, 48-45, taking a lead as big as six twice over the late action. However, the Brown and Gold's lead dwindled to one, 56-55, on the back of a Trevena Bennett three with 1:23 to play, and the game tied twice more in the final minute, the last coming on a Smith layup for 59-59 with 24 ticks on the clock.

However, Clark keyed the win from the free-throw line with help from classmate Balfour; Clark was fouled twice in the final 11 seconds, making the front end of her first trip to the line before Balfour pulled down a big offensive board to keep possession with the Panthers. With the Falcons having no choice but to foul again, Clark sank both her attempts the second time around, leaving Bentley out of time for a comeback.

The Panthers are back in action on the road on Saturday, Jan. 14 when they travel to SNHU for a 1:30 pm NE10 contest.

NOTES
- The Panthers recorded their first win over a nationally-ranked opponent at home since defeating Queens College (N.Y.) 69-39 on 12/6/15, ranked #21 at the time.
- Adelphi has won its last 10 games, and currently post a 6-0 record at home.

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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.

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.