Worcester, Mass. -- A combined 28 points from Niajah Morgan and Natalie Fekula off the bench helped the #14 Adelphi University women's basketball team erase an 11-point halftime deficit, but the Panthers fell short in overtime to the upset-minded Assumption Greyhounds on the road, 63-58.

With three of Adelphi's (18-3, 13-1 NE10) five starters picking up at least two fouls in the first half, Morgan and Fekula were called upon for extended minutes and delivered accordingly. Seven of Fekula's season-high 12 points came in the first half, as she also pulled down five rebounds and added a block in 33 minutes on the floor. Fourteen of Morgan's team-high 16 points came in the second half, as the sophomore shot 50 percent from the floor (8-16) and pulled down six rebounds. Calli Balfour was the lone starter to post double-figures in the setback, the Panthers' first in 15 games, as she scored 14 points and totaled six rebounds and five steals before fouling out in the third quarter. Conversely, four of Assumption's (14-5, 9-5 NE10) five starters totaled double figures, as Allison Stoddard scored 16 and Morgan O'Brien sank four threes for 12 points. 

Adelphi was cold from the floor for much of the first half, after Stoddard and Balfour traded three pointers to open the contest. An 11-4 Assumption run over the bulk of the first quarter led the hosts to an 18-8 lead at the close of the period, and the lead extended to a game-high 14, 23-9, on an O'Brien made three with 6:46 remaining in the second quarter. The host Greyhounds had an answer for every made bucket by the Panthers for the duration of the first half, but a Fekula triple off the dish by Julia Gnieser was the last bucket of the half as Adelphi went into the locker room down 32-21.

The Brown and Gold flipped the script in the third quarter, powering out to a 14-2 scoring run over nearly seven minutes, as Sierra Clark, Balfour and Fekula all sank shots from behind the arc, with Fekula's giving the visitors their first lead of the afternoon, 35-34, with 2:19 left in the period. Nonetheless, the Greyhounds again responded with the final six points of the period, re-establishing their lead at five, 40-35, headed to the fourth.

Adelphi wrestled the lead back thanks to a 9-0 run, which saw Morgan score six, over five-plus minutes in the fourth as Clark sank a two-point jumper for the 52-48 edge with 1:44 remaining. However, the Greyhounds were undaunted, tying the game at 52-52 only to see Morgan score again for the 54-52 lead with just eight seconds to play. Out of the Assumption timeout, Kelly Carey cut to the basket to score the game-tying layup with just seven seconds on the clock, and back down the other end of the floor after Adelphi advanced the ball out of a timeout, Morgan had a look at the game-winning jumper but it rimmed out, as the game headed to overtime. 

While Morgan's shooting touch continued in the extra period, sinking the first bucket just 15 seconds in for a 56-54 lead, Carey played hero for the home team, sinking the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:50 remaining on the clock as she scored five of the Greyhounds' nine points in overtime. After Clark knocked down a jumper to make it a one-point game and corralled the defensive rebound looking to give Adelphi the lead, her go-ahead attempt fell short with 49 seconds to go, before Gnieser missed out on the game-tying three with seven seconds on the clock.

The Panthers return to action at home on Wednesday night, as they welcome the Pace Setters to the Center for Recreation and Sport at 5:30 pm on Feb. 1.

NOTES
- Both Morgan and Fekula totaled career-bests in scoring.
- The Brown and Gold lost an OT game for the first time in over four years (January 19, 2013), snapping a six-game streak of overtime wins.
- Adelphi holds a four-game lead over second-place AIC for the top seed in the Southwest Division with six games left in the NE10 slate.

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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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