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March 14, 2008
Philadelphia, Pa. - Despite outscoring #1 Wilmington (DE) 40-34 in the second half, the #4 Adelphi University women's basketball team was unable to rebound from a first-half deficit, falling 79-67 in the semi-final round of the ECAC Championships. The Panthers finish their season with a 14-15 record while the Wildcats (21-9) advance to Saturday's final against #3 Caldwell College. Four of Adelphi's five starters posted double figures, led by senior Gianna Smith, who was also named to the ECAC All-Tourament team, with 16 points. Junior Lisa Manetta had 14 points, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Junior Serita Lee tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Mary Lepore accounted for 11 points. The Panthers led early on, 6-5, on a put back by Lee at 16:47. Then Wilmington, which shot 51.5 percent in the half, took charge by outscoring Adelphi 26-9 over the next ten minutes to lead, 31-15, with 5:42 on the clock. The Panthers went basket for basket, but the damage was done as they trailed by 18, 45-27, at intermission. Jamie Gallagher drained the three-pointer to open the second half to increase the margin to 21, 48-27. But Adelphi began to slowly climb back, helped by Manetta's long range performance. The Panthers rallied on a on an 20-11 run, capped by a basket by junior Jasmine Travers, to close to within nine, 55-45, at 10:59. Still trailing by nine with 5:13 left in regulation, the Wildcats hit an 11-4 spurt to move ahead, 76-60 with 1:51 to go. Adelphi rattled off seven points, including Manetta's fourth trifecta, but Wilmington's Amelia Simmons had the last word, knocking in a three-pointer at the buzzer. Simmons led all scorers with 21 points followed by Sherrelle Holmes with 18 points. Gallagher added 14 points and Nordia Henry recorded 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. In the first semi-final game, the Cougars (18-11) upset #2 seed Philadelphia University (19-10), 86-80, to advance to the championship game. Adelphi completes its 2007-08 campaign with a 14-15 overall record and a fourth place finish (12-8) in the ECC regular season standings. Smith became the school's all-time leading scorer on March 1 and completes her career with 1,559 points. Three Adelphi Panthers earned All-ECC honors with Smith named a first-team selection and Lepore and Lee named to the third team. |
