Old Westbury, N.Y. - Despite a 10-point halftime lead and a slight edge in rebounding, the Adelphi University women's basketball team fell at the buzzer to the host Bears of the New York Institute of Technology on Sunday afternoon on the final day of the ECC/NE10, 55-54.

Adelphi (1-1) built a 23-11 lead at the close of the first quarter, but was outscored by the Bears (1-1) in each of the next three periods, capped as Tiara Place found space to put the game-winning layup up and in as time expired in the fourth. NYIT's Nina Vukosavljevic led all scorers with 18 points as the only player in the game in double figures, while Adelphi got balanced scoring, with all 13 players who saw action registering at least one point.

Natalie Fekula hauled in a career-high 13 rebounds and added seven points, while Niajah Morgan scored a team-high nine and Emily Miccile added eight. 

A 15-4 scoring run midway through the first helped Adelhpi stamp its early authority, extending an 8-7 lead to a 23-11 advantage that ended the first period. The Brown and Gold's lead blossomed to a game-high 13 in the second period, as Julia Strachan sank a three with 56 seconds until halftime to make it a 31-18 game.

However, the Bears started to wrestle momentum from there, using an 24-12 run from the end of the second through much of the third to get within one with 2:55 remaining in the third, capped as Vukosavljevic and Shalie Frierson sank consecutive three-pointers.

Nonetheless, NYIT would never lead until the final buzzer, as the Panthers staved them off save for a brief 51-51 tie as Frierson hit two from the line with 3:47 on the clock. Just 13 seconds later, Fekula corralled a Miccile miss for the putback to give Adelphi the lead again, but the key stretch of the contest proved to come in the final minute of play.

A Vukosavljevic layup with 1:55 to go cut NYIT's deficit to one, and with Adelphi unable to score on its next possession, the Panthers became the beneficiaries of a key offensive foul called on NYIT's senior guard with just 10 seconds on the clock, awarding them possession. After Place fouled Miccile quickly out of a timeout, the freshman was unable to sink either of her chances at the line, as Place hauled in the second for a defensive rebound and set up the game-winning play.

Adelphi opens up Northeast-10 Conference play on Wednesday, Nov. 15 when they travel to Pleasantville, N.Y. to take on the Pace University Setters at 5:30 p.m.

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About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009, and in the past eight seasons, has collected 25 regular season conference titles, 26 tournament championships, 33 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup four times (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), while winning six NCAA Division II National Championships.

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