PHILADELPHIA – The #25/19 Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (10-1) held visiting Southern Connecticut State (6-3) to six points in the fourth quarter to earn a 55-43 victory in a battle of two regionally-ranked squads on Saturday. The Rams are second in this week's D2SIDA East Region Poll while the Owls are ranked seventh.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Jefferson fell behind 7-0 early but then scored eight in a row to go in front. Emma Kuczynski and Cassie Murphy each tallied four points in the 8-0 surge. The score was even at 12 apiece before a three-pointer with 10 seconds to go gave SCSU a 15-12 advantage entering the second.
 
The Owls opened the second period with back-to-back threes to up their cushion to nine (21-12) with 7:25 on the clock. However, Jefferson responded with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to one (23-22) with 2:55 left. Kuczynski and Murphy netted four points apiece once more. Down 25-22, Maeve McCann converted a pair of free throws and Haley Meinel dropped in a layup to give the Rams a 26-25 edge at halftime.
 
Jefferson began the third quarter with a layup then the Owls answered with seven straight points to take a 32-28 lead. The Rams then got hot again, going off for 11 consecutive points to claim a seven-point cushion (39-32) with one minute to play. Emily Keehfuss sparked the rally with back-to-back threes during the run. The Jefferson lead was four (41-37) heading to the final stanza.
 
SCSU registered the first bucket of the fourth to get within two (41-39). However, the Rams shut down the Owls for the next seven minutes, embarking on a 12-2 run to pull away for a 12-point advantage (53-41) with 1:23 to go. Four different players contributed to the Jefferson surge. The Rams shot 50.0% (4-of-8) during the period while limiting SCSU to just 25.0% (3-of-12).
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Cassie Murphy: 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Emma Kuczynski: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Sam Yencha: 7 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
Emily Keehfuss: 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist
Morgan Robinson: 5 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 21-of-56 (37.5%)
3PT: 2-of-12 (16.7%)
FT: 11-of-17 (64.7%)
 
NOTES
- Jefferson tied its season low with just eight fouls and did not put the Owls at the line for a single free throw.
- The Rams have won five in a row for the second time this season.
- Jefferson improved to 6-0 all-time against Southern Connecticut State.
 
UP NEXT
The Rams resume conference play on Thursday, December 29^th at Georgian Court. Tip-off is at 12 p.m.