PHILADELPHIA – The #15/9 Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (26-3) defeated Caldwell (10-18), 68-43, in the CACC quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
 
The Rams, the tourney's number one overall seed, advance to play Dominican, the second seed from the North Division, in the semifinals on Saturday, March 4^th at 12 p.m. The remainder of the conference tournament will be contested at the Gallagher Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams went back and forth early on and there were five ties in the opening quarter. The last deadlock was at 12 apiece before Haley Meinel's jumper gave Jefferson a 14-12 advantage going into the second.
 
The Rams began the second quarter with an 11-2 run to up the margin to 11 (25-14) with 7:33 on the clock. Emily Keehfuss drilled back-to-back threes and Haley Meinel added another triple to spark the surge. After the Cougars closed the gap to eight (25-17), Jefferson pulled away again, this time with nine consecutive points to make the score 34-17 with 4:15 to go in the half. The Rams maintained a 17-point lead (40-23) going to the break. They shot 61.1% (11-of-18) during the period, including 4-of-8 from long distance.
 
After a pair of Caldwell free throws started the scoring in the third, Jefferson tallied eight in a row to increase the difference to 23 (48-25) with 6:05 to go. The Cougars were unable to mount a comeback bid after that with the margin never dipping below 20 the rest of the way.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Sam Yencha: 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Haley Meinel: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Emily Keehfuss: 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting (4-8 3PT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Morgan Robinson: 2 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 25-of-56 (44.6%)
3PT: 5-of-15 (33.3%)
FT: 13-of-20 (65.0%)
 
NOTES
- Sam Yencha's 20 points is a career high.
- Emily Keehfuss's four three-pointers tied her career best.
- The Rams advanced to the CACC semifinals for the fifth straight season.