SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (3-0) posted a 14-1 run in the first quarter and never looked back in a 76-65 win at Shippensburg on Wednesday.
 
The victory marked #800 in the career of Head Coach Tom Shirley. He is just the 17^th coach in NCAA women's basketball history to reach the milestone.
 
GAMEPLAY
The Rams trailed by one (5-4) early on but surged ahead with a 14-1 rally that ended with 3:55 left in the opening quarter. Cassie Murphy led the way with six points with Haley Meinel and Sam Yencha each contributing four. The Raiders netted seven in a row to close to within five (18-13) at the end of the period.
 
The score was 22-17 in the second when Jefferson upped the margin to 12 (29-17) with a 7-0 run. Meinel totaled four points and Emily Keehfuss dropped a three-pointer. Shippensburg made it an eight-point game (31-23) going into the intermission.
 
The Rams kept the Raiders at bay in the third, leading by at least eight points throughout the frame. Jefferson had its largest lead of the stanza at 14 (52-38) after a layup by Morgan Robinson at the 1:31 mark. The score was 55-44 heading into the final quarter.
 
The Rams got the margin up to 15 (59-44) with 8:07 left. However, Shippensburg came back with 17 of the next 23 to cut the deficit to four (65-61) with 4:20 remaining. Jefferson recovered though, conceding just four points the rest of the way and making seven foul shots down the stretch to close out the win.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Morgan Robinson: 11 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal
- Cassie Murphy: 25 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block
- Haley Meinel: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 assists, 1 block
- Maeve McCann: 12 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 rebound
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 30-of-65 (46.2%)
3PT: 5-of-14 (35.7%)
FT: 11-of-18 (61.1%)
 
NOTES
- Morgan Robinson's triple-double is the first for the Rams since Caitlyn Cunningham on November 28, 2018 versus West Chester.
 
UP NEXT
Jefferson finishes its season-opening road trip at Kutztown on Saturday, November 20 at 1 p.m.