Women's Basketball Outlasts AIC, 77-73

Box Score 

Springfield, Mass. - The Adelphi University women's basketball team returned to Northeast-10 Conference play with a 77-73 win at American International College on Saturday. The Panthers played to a tie game at the half and scored 43 second-half points to outlast the Yellow Jackets, who shot just 35.1 percent (27-77) in the contest. Adelphi improves to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in NE-10 play to move within one victory of last season's win total. AIC slips to 6-5 overall and 3-4 in the league.

Junior Sade Jackson paced the Panthers with 17 points on 7-10 shooting from the floor while adding nine assists, six steals and five rebounds. Sophomore Jenna Halaby scored a career-high 13 points, flushing 5-10 shots while playing a career high 33 minutes. Junior Jessica Kitrys added 11 points and eight rebounds, and Kelly Mannix chipped in 10 points and eight boards. 

For the Yellow Jackets, Sarah Noble scored a game-high 21 points and drilled five 3-pointers. Krista Ferrentino and Alyssa Roach tallied 16 and 14 points, respectively, with Ferrentino converting a double-double with 10 rebounds. Shooting woes would be the hosts' undoing, as AIC shot just 29.55 percent (13-44) in the first half but managed with work a 34-34 tie after 20 minutes of play. The Panthers shot a steady 53.7 percent from the field and sank 7-9 free throws in the second half, while the Yellow Jackets struggled with an 8-17 mark from the foul line.

The Yellow Jackets clutched a single-digit advantage early in the game, working a 12-7 lead after four minutes of action. A 3-pointer by Mannix and a layup by Kitrys tied the game at 12-12, but AIC inched away over the next several minutes on the strength of an 8-2 run capped by an Ebony Easter layup that put the Yellow Jackets up 28-19. However, a 13-0 run by the Panthers turned the tides and gave Adelphi a 34-31 lead with 1:11 to go in the half. Tara Flynn's jumper pushed the three-point advantage, but Noble answered with a trey to tie the game heading into halftime.

Adelphi held a small lead in the first several minutes of second half action, but the Yellow Jackets claimed their first advantage of the half at the 13:00 mark on a Roach jumper. The Panthers called a timeout to regroup, and Samantha Milhaven swished a 3-pointer out of the break to give Adelphi a lead it would not relinquish. AIC made it a one-possession game on several occassions and crept within two points with just eight seconds to play. Roach hit one of two free throws to make it 75-73, but the Yellow Jackets were forced to foul and freshman Lauren Nuss hit both foul shots to finalize the 77-73 score. 

The Panthers return home to take on Merrimack College in NE-10 action on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

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