PHILADELPHIA – With 3:19 left to play in the third quarter, Morgan Robinson delivered a pass to Sam Yencha who scored her jumper. That score helped Robinson become the all-time assist leader in Jefferson history as the #8/10 ranked Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (12-1, 3-0) earns a 81-68 victory over Dominican University of New York (4-9, 1-3) in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) competition this Saturday afternoon.
 
WHAT HAPPENED
Robinson started off the game only needing 13 assists to break the record. She answered that with a 10 assist first quarter, with Yencha and Haley Meinel making four of those basket early on as the Rams were up 10-4 in the first quarter. Robinson would hit a jumper after Cassie Murphy made both of her free throws. Murphy would then add another assist for Robinson, making her jumper to get it to 16-4 with 3:58 to go in the first. Angelina DiMarisco hit a three while Keylee Harrison made a layup to make it 18-9.
 
Emma Kuczynski would convert on two free throws while Murphy made her layup to make it 22-10. Yencha and Kuczynski would make their shots to add three more assists for Robinson. Yencha would convert on a layup and jumper while Kuczynski made her three with 13 seconds before the end of the first, pushing Robinson's assist total to 10 as the Rams went into the second period up 29-16.
 
The Chargers would trabe baskets early on as DiMarisco hit a three while Tamia Nunes made her layup to put it at 31-21. Meinel hit her shot to make it 33-21, but a Chidinma Ndukauba free throw and jumper put it at 36-24 with 6:50 to go before the break. The Rams would then go on a 17-0 run for the rest of the quarter, with Yencha scoring eight points down that stretch. Murphy would make two free throws and a jumper while Robinson hit her own shot and Emily Keehfuss converting from beyond the arc as the Rams would head into the half up 53-24.
 
The third quarter would see Dominican begin to turn their tide, outscoring the Rams 25-18. Yencha would make a pair of free throws and Murphy hit a jumper to make it 57-26. Robinson would add an assist at 8:11 from a Yencha to get within two assists from breaking the record. Dominican's Ndukauba would score eight points in a row as the Chargers were down 63-34 to Jefferson. Yencha would respond with another basket, helping her to a career-high 32 points on the day, with another assist by Robinson which would put her one away from the record.
 
After Isabella Javier made her and-one play, Robinson would pass it to Yencha once again, with the shot going through the basket and putting Robinson up atop the all-time list of assists for the Rams. Dominican would not let up from the record breaker, as they would hit four straight three-pointers in a row to cut the Rams lead to 67-49. Meinel and Yencha would each have a basket to finish the third quarter, putting Jefferson up 71-49.
 
Dominican would once more outscore Jefferson 19-10 in the fourth quarter, but the Rams would keep their lead intact. The Rams would have eight of their 10 points come off free throws, with Keehfuss making three of them. Yencha and Robinson earned two while Meinel went 1-2 in the quarter. Dominican would end the game with seven straight points, but the Rams held onto their lead and earned the 81-68 win in the conference.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Sam Yencha: 32 points (career-high) on 14-of-19 shooting, 4-4 FT, 9 rebounds
Cassie Murphy: 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting, 4-4 FT, 19 rebounds (career-high)
Morgan Robinson: 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, 13 assists (season-high) 4 rebounds, 2 blocks
Haley Meinel: 9 points on 4-of-11 shooting (1-2 3PT), 2 blocks, 2 rebounds
Emily Keehfuss: 9 points on 2-of-4 shooting (2-4 3PT), 3-5 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
 
RECORD BROKEN
Robinson has now achieved 655 assists in her career, making her the all-time leader in assists for Jefferson. She broke a record that was set by Maribeth Rogers in 1984 with 654 assists that stood in Jefferson history for nearly 40 years.
 
CAREER-HIGHS ACHIEVED
Yencha and Murphy both reached career-highs in this match. Yencha scored her best 32 points on the day while Murphy added a double double on the day with 19 rebounds in the contest.
 
UP NEXT
Jefferson will stay in their home stretch as they welcome Georgian Court University inside the Gallagher Center on Tuesday, January 9 at 6 p.m. in CACC competition.