Box Score PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia University women's basketball team is on its first 10-game winning streak in nearly two years after the Rams defeated visiting Wilmington (Del.) 61-53 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference battle Tuesday night in the Gallagher Center.
Philadelphia improves to 16-5 overall and remains perfect in conference play at 12-0. The last time the Rams had a 10-game winning streak was from Jan. 18, 2014 through Feb. 18, 2014. The victory is also the 699th in head coach Tom Shirley's 35-year career.
Bria Young (Philadelphia, Pa./Prep Charter) was the game's high scorer with 19 points. She added six rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one blocked shot. Tori Arnao (Newtown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Rachel Day (Horsham, Pa./Archbishop Wood) scored 12 points.
Both teams shot the ball very well in the opening quarter that ended with the Rams leading 20-18. Philadelphia—behind a 5-for-5 quarter from Arnao—shot 56.3 percent from the field and Wilmington connected on 53.3 percent of its attempts. The first quarter featured eight lead changes and a quarter-high four-point lead for each team.
Philadelphia turned up the defense in the second 10 minutes, forcing Wilmington to shot just 20.0 percent, to take a 39-26 lead into halftime. Young dominated the quarter offensively for the Rams as she scored 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting at the free throw line. With the score tied at 22, Young scored five points in 38 seconds to spark a 17-4 run over the final 7:43 of the half.
A 13-2 charge in the third quarter pushed the Philadelphia lead to a game-high 23 points (54-31) on a Day layup with 1:52 to play. Day knocked down three 3-pointers as she accounted for 11 of the team's 15 third-quarter points.
The Rams weren't threatened in the final quarter but the Wildcats' Zameria Jones made a layup with 5.1 seconds remaining to keep Philadelphia from winning by double figures.
Philadelphia finished the game shooting 39.3 percent (22-of-56) from the floor, 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from behind the arc.
Wilmington (10-11, 5-7 CACC) got 14 points and seven rebounds from Ashri Broadwater. The Wildcats shot 35.0 percent (21-of-60) for the game.
Philadelphia welcomes Bloomfield to the Gallagher Center for a clash of CACC division leaders on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. The game is slated to air on ESPN3.
