Box Score PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia University women's basketball overcame an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to clinch the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) southern division crown with a 66-64 Senior Day victory over visiting Holy Family Saturday afternoon in the Gallagher Center.
Philadelphia—the fifth-ranked team in the NCAA Division II East Region Rankings—claims the division for the second time in program history, the first time since the 2013-14 season, and improves to 21-6 overall, 17-1 against the CACC. It is also the first time in program history that the Rams won the regular season series against the Tigers.
Before the opening tip, head coach Tom Shirley and the team honored their three seniors: Tori Arnao (Newtown, Pa./Archbishop Wood), Bria Young (Philadelphia, Pa./Prep Charter), and Mary Newell (Lansdale, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie).
The Rams were down 54-46 with 7:39 left in the contest after the Tigers' (20-7, 15-3 CACC) Abigail Iannotti drained a layup. Philadelphia—who hadn't led since the 7:32 mark of the second quarter—rattled off 14 of the next 16 points to take a 60-56 advantage on a Young jumper at the 2:30 mark. The Rams shot 6-of-8 from the field during the 5:09 span, while holding the Tigers to 1-of-6 shooting.
With the advantage down to one, Arnao came up with a huge offensive rebound off of a missed Young 3-pointer, made the put back and ensuing free throw after getting fouled to push the lead back up to four (63-59) with 1:16 remaining.
After a Taylor Walker basket cut the Philadelphia advantage in half, the Rams hit three of their four free throw attempts to take a game-high five-point lead (66-61). Jill Conroy—the Tigers' leading scorer with 24 points—knocked down a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to keep the Tigers in the contest. Holy Family had a chance to win the game after Philadelphia missed two free throws, but Conroy's step-back 3-pointer as time expired hit the back of the rim giving the Rams the win.
Young led Philadelphia with 21 points and five steals. Arnao finished up with 16th double-double of the season as she had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Newell had 12 points, while Rachel Day (Horsham, Pa./Archbishop Wood) contributed 10 points.
Holy Family—ranked sixth in the East Region—led by as many as 12 (35-23) in the opening half thanks to an 18-6 second-quarter run. The Tigers, who shot 52.9 percent during the quarter, 7-of-12 from the floor in the surge.
The Rams chipped away at the Tiger lead for a majority of the third quarter, getting as close as three (47-44) on a Young layup with 15 seconds left. Philadelphia's defense was the key for the Rams to get back in the game as they held the Tigers to 3-of-13 shooting and forced four turnovers in the quarter. Offensively, Young had 11 of the team's 19 third-quarter points.
Iannotti had a double-double for Holy Family with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Rams shot 40.3 percent (27-of-67) from the floor, while the Tigers finished up shooting 38.1 percent (24-of-63). Both teams grabbed 41 rebounds and committed 12 turnovers.
Philadelphia concludes the regular season with a CACC contest against Chestnut Hill on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. in the Gallagher Center.
