Comeback Effort by Devils Falls Short

A strong comeback effort by the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia fell short in the final 2:30 minutes as Holy Family University hung on to defeat the Devils 55-48 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference women's basketball game tonight at the Bobby Morgan Arena on USP's campus.

Holy Family improves to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in league play. The Devils fall to 3-3 overall and 1-3 in conference games.

Shelby Rance (Sr., Central Columbia HS/Bloomsburg, Pa.) led the Devils with 12 points. Rashanna Edwards (Sr., West Windsor-Plainsboro HS/Cherry Hill, Pa.) added nine and dished out a game high four assists while Allison Weiss (So., Springfield HS/Springfield, Pa.) had a string of four consecutive double-doubles snapped with a seven-point, seven rebound effort.

The Tigers placed three players in double figures, led by Melissa Brooks' 14 points. Kelly Killion and Chrissy Kosiek each added 10 points. Megan Bauer led all players on the boards with nine caroms.

Holy Family used a 13-6 run at the end of the first half to take a 12 point lead into the lockerroom at the break, 26-14. USP connected on just 4 of 21 shots in the period (19%). The Tigers were not much better hitting 10 of 34 (29%).

USP cut the lead in half over the first 8 minutes of the second period with a 12-6 run to make the score 32-26 at the 11:28 mark. Holy Family scored the next five points to go back up by 11, 37-26 with 10:51 left before Edwards drove to the basket for a layup to break the Devils drought and make the score 37-28 at the midway point of the final period.

The Tigers still led by 10, 45-35 with 6:56 left before the Devils started a rally which would pull them to within a point of the Tigers. Two free throws apiece by Rance and Davitra Goode (Sr., Central Islip HS/Central Islip, NY) brought the Devils back within six, 45-39 with 5:47 left. Brooks added a jumper to boost the lead back up to eight before Weiss made two more free throws to bring the Devils back within six, 47-41 with 4:18 left. After two Tiger free throws by Shenea Williams boosted the lead back to eight, Hayley Lentz (Jr., Wilson Area HS/Easton, PA) added a layup and Rance added her only three-point field goal of the game to bring the Devils within three, 49-46 with 2:51 left.

A defensive stop by the Devils turned into a pair of free throws when Bauer committed her fifth foul on the rebound, putting Emily Aponte (Fr., Dumont HS/Dumont, N.J.) on the line with 2:30 left. Aponte made both free throws and the Devils trailed by one, 49-48. Eight of the Devils 13 points during the run came from the free throw line. The Devils stopped the Tigers cold twice afterwards but were unable to score to take the lead. Holy Family then scored six straight points in the final 1:44 to put the game away and take home a 55-48 win.

For the game, the Devils connected on just 13 of 42 shots from the field (31.0%) and made 21 of 24 shots from the free throw line (87.5%) Holy Family made just 19 of 60 shots from the field (31.7%) and was just 14 of 22 from the free throw line (63.6%). The Tigers held the edge on the glass, outrebounding the Devils 40-34 (16-8 on the offensive side). USP committed 20 turnovers to the Tigers 15.