Garden City, N.Y. - Though the team honored its lone senior prior to tip-off, it was another upperclassman who stole the show for the Adelphi University women's basketball team on Wednesday night.

Redshirt junior forward Leonie Edringer pumped in 20 second-half points to help the Panthers (14-12, 11-8 NE10) notch their fifth straight victory, a 71-63 victory over the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University inside the Center for Recreation and Sports.

Niajah Morgan, honored before the game for her decorated career in a Panther uniform, did join Edringer in double figures with 17 points, despite playing limited minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls.

The senior's scoring went along with six rebounds, three assists and three steals, to bring her career point total to 981, just 19 short of 1,000.

SCSU (13-14, 7-12 NE10) got off to a torrid start offensively, sinking its first four three-point field goals of the first quarter and opening up an 18-3 lead with 4:44 left in the first frame. Nonetheless, Adelphi battled back, and outscored the Owls 11-3 to end the period - though SCSU got a triple at the buzzer from Erin Ryder to break a scoring drought which lasted almost the final five minutes.

The visitors' lead grew back to as much as 12 as they scored six of the first seven points of the second quarter, but Adelphi again proved undaunted by the big deficit: the Brown and Gold held the Owls to just five more points over the final 6:29 before halftime, and scored 14 more of their own to close the gap to just three to start the second half, 32-29. 

The comeback which had been gaining steam finally showed itself in the third quarter, as the Panthers wrestled control of the contest from a nine-point deficit on another three-pointer made by Amanda Pfohl, the nation's leading shooter from behind the arc. 

With 7:19 on the clock, a layup and one by Edringer stared a 15-0 Adelphi run that lasted over five minutes, in which the forward from Germany totaled nine of her 11 points in the quarter, to give the Panthers their first lead of the night: a 46-40 advantage with 1:40 remaining.

The Owls would tie the score once more in the fourth, equaling at 48-48 on another Pfohl make from deep just a minute in, but Adelphi scored 12 of the next 15 points on the floor to all but put the game away by the two-minute mark.

After a weekend off this Saturday, the Panthers close out the regular season next Tuesday night, as they hit the road to take on the American International College Yellow Jackets at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 26.

The game could have major playoff implications for the Panthers, as a victory at AIC will assure them of the second seed in the Southwest Division in next week's NE10 tournament, which would grant them a home playoff quarterfinal game on Sunday, March 3. 

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About Adelphi Athletics
A regionally and nationally competitive NCAA Division II institution located in Garden City, N.Y., Adelphi University has been a proud member of the Northeast-10 Conference since 2009.

Winners of 16 NCAA Division II National Championships and four NE10 Presidents' Cups, Panther athletes have excelled at the conference, regional and national level, both on the field of play and in the classroom. In turn, the Adelphi athletic department is committed to fostering an environment of diversity, inclusion, equity and success where its student-athletes can thrive both on campus and off.

Stay connected with Adelphi Athletics by following the Panthers at aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and wear your Panther pride by shopping official Adelphi Panthers gear at our licensed team store.