Box Score PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia University women's basketball team went back-and-forth with #8 Holy Family for 45 minutes Wednesday night in the Campus Center, but in the end the Rams' upset bid fell just two points short in a 72-70 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) overtime loss.
Sophomore guard Monica Schacker (Doylestown, Pa./Germantown Academy) knocked down five three-pointers, including one with 36 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime tied at 68, on her way to a 17-point night. Sophomore guard Najah Jacobs (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) also finished the contest with 17 points, 12 coming in the first half. Jacobs also dished out five assists.
Freshman forward Tori Arnao (Newtown, Pa./Archbishop Wood)—the sixth leading rebounder in Division II—collected her 10th double-double of the season as she ended the game with 15 points and a game-best 16 rebounds. Senior forward Kristen Blye (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown E.) netted 10 points.
The contest was tied at 68 until Holy Family's Erin Mann hit two free throws with 1:15 left in the overtime session. On the Rams' next possession, Jacobs drained a pair of free throws at the 1:04 mark to knot the game back up at 70.
Mann came back down the floor and connected on a 16-footer to score the eventual game-winning basket. Philadelphia (10-10, 6-7 CACC) had three attempts at a shot to send the game to double overtime in the final 12 seconds, but couldn't get anything to fall.
Philadelphia faced a 42-32 second half deficit after Holy Family went on a 9-1 run. The Rams scratched and clawed until they were able to take their first lead of the contest (52-51) on a Blye lay-up with 6:59 left.
The advantage was short lived as the Tigers answered by outscoring the Rams 11-3 over a 2:40 span to retake a seven-point lead (62-55). Philadelphia didn't go away as it fought back to grab a 63-62 lead with 2:41 left on a Schacker triple.
In the first half the Rams were trailing 9-2 when Jacobs rattled off five consecutive points to single-handedly pull Philadelphia within two points (9-7) with 13:35 left. The Tigers' lead fluctuated between four and eight points until a 6-0 run pushed it to a half-high 10 points (25-15) at the 6:20 mark.
Philadelphia responded with a 12-4 run, capped by a Jacobs trey with 56 seconds left, to pull within a point at 29-28. Holy Family led at the half, 31-28.
Kelly Brady led the Tigers with a game-high 20 points and a team-high 15 points. Mann contributed 19 points and 11 boards.
Holy Family outshot Philadelphia 35.4 percent (28-of-79) to 31.1 percent (23-of-74), but the Rams were the better three-point shooting team, 36.8 percent (7-of-19) to 7.7 percent (1-of-13). The Tigers won the battle of the boards, 60-46.
The Rams return home on Saturday, Feb. 9 to take on Dominican (N.Y.) in a CACC contest in the Gallagher Center. Before the start of the game, the department of athletics will honor seniors Kristen Blye and Taylor Peltzer.
