NEWARK, Del. – The Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (8-1, 2-0 CACC) held host Wilmington (0-7, 0-1 CACC) to just 14 points in the first half and went on to defeat the Wildcats, 80-43, in a conference matchup on Tuesday evening.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wilmington began the scoring with a jumper within 30 seconds of the opening tip but the Rams then went to work, answering with an 18-2 run to go ahead by 14 (18-4) with 3:28 on the clock. All five starters scored during the surge. Jefferson increased the margin to 16 (24-8) entering the second.
 
The Rams caught fire again at the start of the second quarter, posting the first nine points and 17 of the initial 19 to open the advantage to 31 (41-10) with 3:16 left. Five different players found the basket during the run once again. Jefferson took a commanding 48-14 lead into the halftime break. The Rams shot 56.4% (22-of-39) from the field during the half while limiting the Wildcats to just 15.4% shooting (4-of-26), including 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.
 
The Jefferson damage done in the first two periods was too much for Wilmington to overcome as the Wildcats never closed the gap below 30 in the second half.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Haley Meinel: 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 6 steals, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 1 rebound
Emma Kuczynski: 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Emily Keehfuss: 11 points with 3 three-pointers, 10 rebounds, 4 assists
Kaya Burkhart: 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 35-of-67 (52.2%)
3PT: 6-of-11 (54.5%)
FT: 4-of-8 (50.0%)
 
NOTES
- Emma Kuczynski and Kaya Burkhart both posted career highs in points.
- Emily Keehfuss registered her first career double-double.
- The Rams produced their best field goal percentage of the season.
 
UP NEXT
Jefferson heads to Bloomsburg for a non-conference battle on Saturday, December 10^th at 12 p.m.