PHILADELPHIA – Trailing 48-40 heading into the fourth quarter, the Rams outscored the Griffins 32-13 to get the #6/7 ranked Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (20-1, 10-0) a 72-61 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) comeback victory against rival Chestnut Hill College (15-7, 9-3) in Tuesday evening competition.
 
WHAT HAPPENED
The Rams stayed event with the Griffins, being even at 6-6 off a Emma Kuczynski jumper. She would give Jefferson the lead with a shot from beyond the arc, but Bridie McCann answered with a layup to keep Chestnut Hill in the game. After a layup from Sam Yencha and jumper by Haley Meinel put Jefferson up 14-10 with 4:10 to go in the first, the Griffins went on a 14-2 run that put Chestnut Hill up 24-16.
 
The Griffins would score the first seven points off Sara Tamoun making shots from the field and beyond the arc that had the Griffins up 31-16. The Rams would go on a 14-2 run of their own behind Cassie Murphy's six points, Emily Spratt scoring five of her 13 points on the night, and a three by Emily Keehfuss that made it 33-30 with 1:19 to go. Lindsey Lane and Caleigh Edwards each had a basket for Chesntut Hill to send them into the break with a 37-30 advantage over Jefferson.
 
The third quarter would see a low scoring affair, with Chestnut Hill having 11 points to Jefferson's 10. Murphy would have the first bucket in the third, but three straight scores by Chestnut Hill, which saw McCann hit two three's, added to their lead 45-32. Jefferson would conclude the period with a 8-2 run behind four points each from Yencha and Spratt, with both players leading the team in scoring with 15 and 13 respectively. Jefferson would trail in the fourth 48-40.
 
The Rams would start to get into a grove in the fourth quarter, as Keehfuss and Kaya Burkhart both hit three-pointers to trail by three points to Chestnut Hill. Keehfuss would deliver another shot from beyond the arc while Yencha and Spratt added their own baskets that eventually concluded a 15-1 run to start the fourth quarter and 23-3 since 2:39 left in the third to have Jefferson now leading 55-49. Morgan Robinson would have four points in the fourth quarter, while Burkhart, Spratt, and Keehfuss all would score as Jefferson had 32 points off the bench. Griffins would try to get back in, but the Rams kept their foot on the gas, outscoring Chestnut Hill 32-13 in the final quarter, to give them a 72-61 victory against their rivals in conference play.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Sam Yencha: 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 1 steal, 1 blocks
Emily Spratt: 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 3-6 FT, 5 rebounds
Cassie Murphy: 9 points on 4-of-8 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Emily Keehfuss: 9 points on 3-of-8 shooting (3-6 3PT), 2 rebounds
Morgan Robinson: 8 points on 3-of-6 shooting, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals
 
QUICK NOTES
Jefferson has now won 20 games this season, the sixth straight year they have done so (2020-21 was canceled due to COVID-19) and 9 out of 12 seasons. This is the fastest the team has won 20 games in a season since 2018-19 where the Rams began the year 20-0.
 
This is also the 17^th straight conference win for the Rams dating back to January 28, 2023. The most consecutive conference wins for Jefferson is 20 in a row, which was set back in 1996-97.
 
The Rams have already set history by winning 19 straight road games going back to the 2022-23 season.
 
UP NEXT
The Rams will now look to get set on the road for the next two contests. They begin that trip with a visit to New Jersey where they will take on Bloomfield College in CACC action on Saturday, February 10 at 1 p.m. Jefferson won their last match against the Bears 88-53 on January 11^th in non-conference action.