Worcester, Mass. (January 17) -- Led by a career-high 35 points by junior captain Kelly Conley (Ellington, Conn./Ellington), the Assumption College women's basketball team picked up an 89-87 victory over No. 7 ranked Adelphi University on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action. The win improves Assumption to 3-0 at home vs. nationally-ranked teams this season, with all three opponents ranked among the top 10 in the USA Today Division II National Poll.

The teams got off to a quick start at 5-5 thru the opening 1:37 before Conley put the Hounds in front on a driving layup. Assumption led by as many as nine points in the half, holding a 20-11 edge on a jumper from sophomore Kelly Carey (Long Beach, N.Y./Holy Trinity) with 10:30 on the clock. The Hounds continued to lead 24-17 on a layup from sophomore Allison Stoddard (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) before the Panthers cut into the lead.

With 4:12 left in the half, Jenna Halaby's layup pulled Adelphi to within one for the first time since the opening minutes at 24-23. Less than two minutes later, the Panthers tied the game on a layup from Halaby before the Hounds answered with a quick 6-0 spurt. On back-to-back possessions, both Conley and Carey dropped in threes from the same corner to make it a 35-29 game with 1:35 remaining. Adelphi's Kelly Mannix stopped the run with a basket of her own, but four quick Assumption points made it a 39-31 heading to the final seconds. A technical foul called on the Assumption bench with no time left on the clock gave Adelphi two free throws, which Anh-Dao Tran knocked down to send the game into the break at 39-33.

Conley led all scorers in the half with 12 for the Hounds as Assumption held an 18-12 rebounding edge and forced 10 Adelphi turnovers.

The Hounds continued to lead by a 46-39 margin just 3:09 into the second before Tran cut the lead down to just 46-44 on a baseline layup at the 15:58 mark. Adelphi eventually tied the game at 50-50 on a basket by Calli Balfour and the teams continued to go back and forth over the next five minutes. With the game tied at 56, Tran gave Adelphi its first lead since the opening minutes at 59-56 as she knocked down a three from the corner with 10:51 remaining.

The Panthers led by as many as four midway thru the half before Assumption regained the edge at 64-63 with nine minutes remaining. A corner three from Conley with 6:41 left put the Hounds ahead for good at 67-65, but the Panthers kept within striking distance. After a three from the top of the key by freshman Kiera O'Donnell (Cheshire, Conn./Holy Cross) stretched the lead back to five at 72-67. The lead swelled to as many as nine with 4:41 on the clock before a quick 5-0 Panther run, capped by a corner three from Balfour, pulled the visitors to within four with exactly three minutes remaining.

Mannix scored on a fastbreak layup off a give-and-go play with 1:44 on the clock to make it a 78-76, followed by a turnover by each team to keep the game at one possession. The Hounds led by at least two and by as many as five over the remaining minutes, knocking down a number of key free throws in the final moments. The biggest free throws of the game came off the hands off Conley with 2.2 left to stretch the lead to 89-84 as Mannix dropped in a deep three at the buzzer for Adelphi to account for the 89-87 final.

Conley's 35-point effort is a career-high and also marks the third-highest single-game scoring total in program history as she finished 9-for-15 from the field. Stoddard added 14 points and a team-high six assists, along with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds from junior Ann Marie Idusuyi (Lynn, Mass./St. Mary's). Sophomore Jaclyn Storey (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) also added 10 points off the bench for the Hounds as Assumption outscored the Adelphi bench 16-13.

Tran led the Panthers with a 26-point effort, along with a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double from Balfour. Mannix also finished 14 points, but was held to just three rebounds as she was seven below her season average.

With the win, Assumption improves to 11-5 overall and 6-5 in the Northeast-10, while Adelphi falls to 15-2 overall and 8-2 in league play.

Assumption is idle until Saturday, January 24th when the Hounds will travel to American International for a 1:30 p.m. start at Butova Gym in Springfield, Mass.

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