WORCESTER, Mass. – Assumption (27-5) rallied behind its home crowd and outscored the Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team, 19-8, in the fourth quarter to deal the Rams (28-5) a heart-breaking 62-57 loss in the NCAA East Region Final on Monday night. The Greyhounds advance to the Elite Eight on March 20^th in St. Joseph, Missouri.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Jefferson could not have gotten off to a better start, scoring the first 11 points of the game and forcing five Assumption turnovers before the Greyhounds got on the board. Haley Meinel led the way with seven points and Morgan Robinson added four. Assumption broke its scoring drought with a three-pointer, one of two made by the Greyhounds in the last three minutes, and was able to get within seven (15-8) heading into the second quarter.
 
Assumption opened the second with a 7-3 stretch to get within three (18-15) but the Rams came back with five in a row to up the difference to eight (23-15) with 7:05 on the clock. The Greyhounds scored 11 of the next 17 to cut the deficit to three again at 29-26 with 1:30 to go before halftime. Emily Keehfuss drained a three at the 29-second mark to give Jefferson a six-point advantage (32-26) at the break.
 
The Rams tallied the first four points of the third quarter to push the margin to 10 (36-26). The Greyhounds were within nine (44-35) when Jefferson poured in another four straight for its largest lead of the game at 13 (48-35) with 2:58 left in the period. Assumption closed the stanza with an 8-1 surge to close the gap to six (49-43) entering the fourth.
 
After the Greyhounds started the final period with a layup, Keehfuss answered with a three to give the Rams a seven-point cushion (52-45) with 7:32 remaining. However, Assumption rallied for seven consecutive points to tie the score at 52 with 5:39 to play. Keehfuss responded with another trey to put Jefferson in front by three. The Greyhounds hit back-to-back jumpers though to take their first lead of the night, 56-55, with 3:29 left and put the capacity crowd into a frenzy. Assumption sank a three at the 1:39 mark to make it a four-point game.
 
The Greyhounds came up with a steal on the Rams' next possession and drew a foul. Assumption made one shot and the score was 60-55 with 1:03 to go. Jefferson was whistled for an offensive foul and was forced to put the Greyhounds on the line again. Assumption came up empty, grabbed the offensive board, but missed another pair of shots with 33 seconds remaining. The Rams were unable to capitalize, missing their next three shots and not making one until the outcome was already determined. Jefferson shot just 3-of-14 in the fourth while the Greyhounds were 6-of-9, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Morgan Robinson: 19 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals
Haley Meinel: 11 points, 4 steals, 2 assists
Emily Keehfuss: 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Sam Yencha: 9 points, 18 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 24-of-66 (36.4%)
3PT: 4-of-14 (28.6%)
FT: 5-of-7 (71.4%)
 
NOTES
- Haley Meinel and Morgan Robinson were named to the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team.
- Sam Yencha's 18 rebounds is a career high.
- Despite forcing 21 turnovers, Jefferson was plagued by 20 of its own, 14 of which were in the second half.