PHILADELPHIA – The Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (11-5, 4-3 CACC) suffered a 70-69 setback to visiting Holy Family on Thursday night.
 
GAMEPLAY
The two squads battled back and forth in the early going and were even at 10 with 4:08 left in the opening quarter. The Rams netted seven straight points to take a 17-10 lead at the 2:36 mark. Cassie Murphy scored four points and Bridget Arcidiacono hit a three-pointer. The Tigers cut the deficit to three (17-14) entering the second.
 
After Jefferson made a jumper to up its lead to five (19-14), Holy Family drilled back-to-back threes to take a one-point edge (20-19). The Rams trailed 23-21 before recording seven in a row to go ahead 28-23 with 3:22 left in the period. Three different players contributed to the stretch. Jefferson maintained the upper hand for the rest of the half and led 37-31 at the intermission.
 
The Rams began the third quarter with a layup for their largest lead of the game (39-31). It was still an eight-point gap (44-36) when the Tigers rallied with an 11-0 run to take a 47-44 lead. Jefferson evened the score at 47 but Holy Family went in front again and carried a 50-48 edge into the final period.
 
The score was deadlocked at 53-all with 6:37 left in regulation. HFU made a layup and three-pointer to take control by five (58-53). It was a three-point margin (60-57) then the Tigers doubled their cushion with a three at the 3:37 mark. Holy Family added two free throws at 2:40 to up the advantage to eight (65-57). It was still an eight-point game (67-59) with 1:26 to play but Jefferson came back with eight consecutive points to tie it at 67 with 47 seconds remaining. Haley Meinel tallied five points to lead the rally.
 
With 42 ticks left, the Tigers went to the line and converted a pair of foul shots for a 69-67 lead. Jefferson countered with a layup to even it at 69 with 38 seconds to go. Holy Family turned the ball over but the Rams could not capitalize, missing four shots in a quick sequence. After the final miss, the Tigers drew a foul on the rebound and went one-for-two at the stripe to go in front 70-69 with 1.1 seconds on the clock. Holy Family stole the ensuing inbounds pass by Jefferson to finish off the victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Haley Meinel: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists, 1 block
- Cassie Murphy: 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
- Maeve McCann: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
- Morgan Robinson: 9 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 24-of-62 (38.7%)
3PT: 3-of-14 (21.4%)
FT: 18-of-28 (64.3%)
 
NOTES
- The Rams were outrebounded by a 55-41 margin, their biggest this season.
- It was Jefferson's first loss to Holy Family at home since December 15, 2016.
 
UP NEXT
The Rams host Caldwell at the Gallagher Center on Sunday, January 23 at 1 p.m.