Rockville Centre, N.Y. – The Adelphi University women's basketball team earned its sixth straight victory on Wednesday night with a 67-61 victory over local rival Molloy University.

Series History:

• The non-conference tilt was the 25th meeting between the programs since the 2003-04 season.

• Adelphi moved to 14-11 in that time period, making it two straight wins against the Lions. The last matchup was a 67-50 Panther victory at the Center for Recreation and Sport on Nov. 23, 2024.

Highlights:

• Victoria Morales led the team in scoring, pouring in 24 points. Shooting 7-19 from the floor, 2-5 from three and 8-11 from the foul line, this marks the second time Morales broke the 20-point threshold.

• Christina Sanchez scored a season-high 13 points and grabbed six rebounds while continuing to show her defensive prowess, tallying six steals, which was a team-high, for the second game in a row.

• Me'Challe Cancer and Gamila Betton were the team's rebounding leaders with 10 boards each. Cancer also led the team in assists with four while scoring five points. 

• Lauren Beberman added to her Northeast 10 Conference leading block total with three more and recorded nine rebounds.

• Gianna Chuffo and Madison Williams each produced seven key points off of the bench.

• The victory resulted in the best start of head coach Sade Jackson's tenure and capped off an undefeated month of December for the Panthers. 

How It Happened:

• The first quarter featured a back-and-forth affair between the two squads with both holding five-point leads. The Lions ultimately outshot Adelphi 60% to 19.2% and ended the period up 18-13.

• Adelphi played a much better second quarter defensively, holding the Lions to a 26.3% shooting clip. Molloy extended the lead to as many as seven, but big buckets from Sanchez and Sofia Kammas as well as free throws from Morales and Cancer flipped the game on its head as the Brown and Gold took a 31-29 lead into halftime.

• In the second half, Adelphi dominated on the defensive side of the ball. Although their shooting woes continued, the Panthers once again made Molloy take tough shots and forced 13 Lion turnovers.

• Leading by as many as 12, the Cats got into some offensive trouble as Molloy chipped away and cut the lead to two with just over 1:30 remaining in the contest. 

• Cancer made a clutch steal with 54 seconds left and got the ball out to Morales who was fouled and sealed the game with a handful of free throws.

• Adelphi forced 26 Molloy turnovers while only turning the ball over eight times itself.This resulted in a 17-4 swing in points off turnovers in favor of the Panthers.

Hear from Coach Jackson:

• "We didn't shoot the ball well today but I was impressed with our defense. We were able to force twenty-five plus turnovers, which allowed us to get out in transition and get easy baskets."

Up Next:

• Adelphi will return in 2026 on Sunday, Jan.4 when it hosts Saint Anselm. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. from the Center for Recreation and Sport.