Pleasantville, N.Y. - The win streak for the Adelphi University women's basketball team hit double digits Tuesday night, after a 74-68 victory over Northeast-10 Conference foe Pace University at the Goldstein Fitness Center in Pleasantville.
Prior to tip-off, the Panthers, who had received votes each of the last two weeks, cracked the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Top 25 Poll at No. 21. It is the program's first national ranking since the 2016-17 season.
Trailing 16-12 late in the first quarter, Adelphi (10-0, 4-0 NE10) reeled off a 17-6 run that extended into the ensuing period to grab a 29-22 lead with 6:09 left before the half. Three different Panthers sank threes in the stretch, including back-to-back three-pointers by
Julia Strachan to close out the run.
Though Pace closed the gap to 36-32 at the half, Adelphi came out of the gate in a fury in the third quarter.
Behind a 47.1 percent (8-of-17) shooting performance, the Panthers outscored the Setters 23-12 in the third quarter to make it a 59-44 game with one 10-minute period to go. Adelphi used a 14-5 burst to jump out to a 54-39 advantage at the 3:55 mark.
In the fourth quarter, the Brown and Gold staved off a furious Pace rally, in which the hosts cut the deficit to a five-point game (71-66) with 43 seconds remaining. Murphy drilled three clutch free throws in the final seconds to seal the Panthers' 10th-consecutive win.
Four players finished in double figures for Adelphi, led by
Leonie Edringer's double-double performance of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Emily Miccile contributed 14 points and eight rebounds.
Emma Cuccurullo and
Fallyn Stephens each scored 10 points off the bench. Stephens also grabbed six rebounds and swiped two steals. Murphy had eight points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals. Strachan added eight points, as well.
Head Coach
Missy Traversi and the Panthers are back in action Sunday (Dec. 15), when they meet East Stroudsburg University in a non-conference tilt at 1 p.m. in East Stroudsburg, Pa.
