Murphy's Game-Winning Shot Elevates Women's Basketball Over St. Thomas Aquinas

SPARKILL, N.Y. - With five seconds left to go on the clock, Cassie Murphy hit a layup shot that pulled the Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (7-4) over St. Thomas Aquinas College (3-9) in the last game of the 2024 calendar year on Saturday afternoon. 

WHAT HAPPENED 

• Jefferson had the first quarter under their control, scoring 17 points while the Spartans only had 9. Emma Kuczynski added 7 points in the first while Murphy put up 6 of her 16 in opening 10 minutes.  

• St. Thomas Aquinas capitalized on the Rams mistakes as they went 8-9 at the charity stripe, leading them to a 16-11 scoring advantage in the second quarter 

• Emily Spratt kept the Rams in the contest as she scored eight of her career-high 22 points in the game. Kuczynski was the other lone scorer in the second, making her three-pointer as Jefferson kept a 28-25 lead against the Spartans going to the break 

• St. Thomas Aquinas didn't let their momentum go, shooting 8-of-15 in the third as they once again outscored Jefferson 19-12. Spratt produced six points while Murphy, Tori Nigro, and Gabby Recinto added two points apiece 

• A three-pointer by Delaney Finnegan before the end of the third had the Spartans ahead 44-40 heading into the final 10 minutes of action 

• The Rams responded by shooting 7-of-19 in the final quarter as they put up 16 points to the Spartans 11 

• Murphy had eight points in the fourth, with Spratt following behind with six while Nigro added two points 

• Murphy's and-one made the game even at 46-46. The Spartans got out to a 53-47 lead before Jefferson mounted their comeback 

• Another layup and free throw by Murphy while Spratt's layup had them trail by one before two Trinity Cheatom free throws had Jefferson trail by three 

• Spratt made it a one-point game from her layup. After the Spartans missed their shot, Murphy took the pass from Kuczynski in the paint, turned around, and made her layup with five seconds to go to make it 56-55 for Jefferson 

• The Spartans attempted one more shot, but ultimately did not convert, seeing the Rams survive a tight contest to earn the win heading into the New Year 

TEAM STATS 
FG: 23-of-64 (35.9%) 
3PT: 2-of-10 (20.0%) 
FT: 8-of-10 (80.0%) 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE 
Emily Spratt: 22 points (career-high) on 10-of-20 shooting, 2-4 FT, 10 rebounds 
Cassie Murphy: 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 2-2 FT, 12 rebounds, 3 assists 
Emma Kuczynski: 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting (2-10 3PT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks 
Tori Nigro: 4 points on 1-of-2 shooting, 2-2 FT, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals 
Gabby Recinto: 4 points on 1-of-5 shooting, 2-2 FT, 8 rebounds, 2 assists 

UP NEXT 
Jefferson will look to start the new year on the right foot as they return to New York, this time to Orangeburg as the Rams will take on Dominican University of New York in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) action on Saturday, January 4 at 3 p.m.