PHILADELPHIA – The 12^th-ranked Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (16-2, 8-0 CACC) dealt Holy Family (13-6, 7-1 CACC) its first conference loss of the season on Tuesday evening, defeating the Tigers, 65-50, on the road. It was the Rams' fourth straight victory and they are now the only team in the conference with an unblemished league record.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Holy Family scored the first four points of the contest then Jefferson tallied six of the next eight to tie the score at six. The teams were level at eight before the Tigers finished the period with four out of five points to take a 12-9 advantage into the second quarter. Both squads struggled during the first, with each shooting under 30 percent.
 
The Rams opened the second with a 13-2 run to go in front 22-14 with 5:14 on the clock. Five different players contributed to the stretch. Holy Family netted seven of the next nine to cut the deficit to three (24-21) before a Jefferson basket made the score 26-21 at halftime.
 
The Rams started the third quarter strong as well, recording the first six points of the stanza to increase their lead to 11 (32-21). However, the Tigers roared back with an 11-2 surge to close the gap to two (34-32) with 3:27 left. Jefferson upped the margin to seven (41-34) before a Holy Family free throw made it a six-point game entering the final frame.
 
In the last quarter, the Tigers narrowed the deficit to three (45-42) with 8:12 remaining. The Rams responded with an 18-6 run that lasted over six minutes, as they pulled away to a 15-point advantage (63-48) with 1:49 to play. Emma Kuczynski led the way with eight points. Jefferson went 7-for-11 from the field during the stretch while Holy Family went just 2-for-7. Overall, the Rams shot 57.1% (8-of-14) in the fourth and limited the Tigers to 35.3% (6-of-17).
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Haley Meinel: 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 8 steals, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Cassie Murphy: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks
Morgan Robinson: 10 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals
Sam Yencha: 10 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Emma Kuczynski: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 27-of-68 (39.7%)
3PT: 0-for-3 (0.0%)
FT: 11-of-16 (68.8%)
 
NOTES
- Haley Meinel's eight steals is a season high.
- Sam Yencha's 17 rebounds is a career best and she registered her third straight double-double.
- Jefferson totaled double-digit steals for the eighth consecutive contest.
 
UP NEXT
The Rams host Alliance (formerly Nyack) on Saturday, January 21^st at 1 p.m.