BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (9-1) pulled away from host Bloomsburg (2-4) in the third quarter and went on to defeat the Huskies, 80-59, on Saturday afternoon for the Rams' fourth straight victory.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Bloomsburg opened the scoring with a three-pointer before Jefferson tallied eight in a row for an 8-3 advantage. The Huskies were able to get within one throughout the period but the Rams maintained the lead and were in front 19-15 entering the second.
 
Jefferson began the second quarter with nine of the first 12 points to up the margin to 10 (28-18) with 6:55 on the clock. Cassie Murphy led the way with six points and Maeve McCann added a three-pointer. Bloomsburg narrowed the deficit to six (28-22) but the Rams came back with eight of the next 11 for an 11-point cushion (36-25) with 1:18 left before halftime. Sam Yencha scored four points during the stretch. Jefferson was ahead 38-30 at the break.
 
The Huskies started the third with a layup to close the gap to six (38-32). However, Jefferson answered with an 8-0 run for a 14-point advantage (46-32) with 5:45 to go. Haley Meinel sparked the surge with four points. Bloomsburg came within 10 (48-38) but Murphy posted the next five points to up the difference to 15 (53-38). It was a 13-point game (55-42) with 43 seconds left before the Rams closed the frame with six unanswered points to take a 61-42 lead into the fourth. Jefferson outscored the Huskies, 23-12, during the quarter.
 
The Rams recorded the initial four points of the final stanza for their largest lead of the day at 23 (65-42). Bloomsburg was able to drop the deficit to 17 (73-56) but Jefferson shot 54.5% during the quarter to ensure the Huskies would not mount a comeback.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Cassie Murphy: 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 12 rebounds, 1 block
Haley Meinel: 14 points, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals
Sam Yencha: 12 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Morgan Robinson: 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 28-of-63 (44.4%)
3PT: 1-of-8 (12.5%)
FT: 23-of-25 (92.0%)
 
NOTES
- Sam Yencha and Cassie Murphy recorded their fifth and second double-doubles of the year respectively.
- The Rams scored 80 points in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
- Jefferson had a season-best performance at the foul line, both in total free throws made and free throw percentage.
 
UP NEXT
The Rams welcome Southern Connecticut State to East Falls on Saturday, December 17^th at 1 p.m.