(Courtesy of Holy Family University Sports Information)
LAKEWOOD, N.J.. - The Holy Family University women's basketball team exploded for a season-best 96 points as the Tigers defeated Georgian Court University, 96-76, in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest Thursday night at the Wellness Center.
Holy Family, winners of four straight games, improves to 11-6 overall and 7-1 in the CACC, while Georgian Court drops to 2-13 overall and 1-7 in conference play.
Four players scored in double-figures for Holy Family as junior Erin Mann (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) led the quartet with a game-high 25 points off 10-of-15 shooting from the field. She also grabbed four rebounds to go along with two steals and two blocks. With tonight's performance, Mann needs one more point to become the 21st player in program history to reach 1,000-career points. She currently sits at 999. Mann will have a chance to reach the 1,000-point milestone at home next week when the Tigers host Goldey-Beacom College on Jan. 18.
Junior Molly Hanlon (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) scored 14 points to go along with a game-high six assists. She also had two blocks and two steals. Sophomore Mary Ellen McCollum (Abington, Pa./St. Basils Academy) contributed 12 points, while junior Kelly Brady (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) finished with ten points and five boards.
Senior Lauren Peters (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) scored a season-high nine points and dished out a team-best six assists as well. Junior Ana Cruz (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) added eight points and four assists for the Tigers.
For Georgian Court, senior Christina White and freshman Tahira Matthews each finished with a team-high 20 points to lead the Lions. White shot an impressive 9-of-11 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds, while Matthews shot 10-of-11 from the free throw line and recorded eight boards. Sophomore Brittany Baker recorded a double-double as she finished the game with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Holy Family led the entire game as the Tigers jumped out the gate with a 9-0 run to take the early lead. Georgian Court cut the lead to five points after a jumper by sophomore Jasmine Lewis to make the score 13-8 at the 13:48 mark of the half.
Holy Family followed with a 30-19 to close out the first half and led 43-27 at halftime.
In the second half, Holy Family increased its lead to as many as 22 points after sophomore Maggie Serratelli (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) scored a layup and then converted a free throw after being fouled in the process. Serratelli's three-point play gave the Tigers a 57-35 lead with 16:16 remaining in the second half.
Later in the half, Georgian Court came within 11 points of the Tigers lead after sophomore Jasmine Cobbs converted a pair of free throws to make the score 80-69 with 6:00 minutes to play.
However, Holy Family quickly halted the Lions comeback surge and closed the game with a 16-7 run the final six minutes of action to secure the victory.
Holy Family shot 53.7-percent from the field for the game and limited Georgian Court to only 35.6-percent shooting for the game. The Tigers defense also forced 26 turnovers.
Georgian Court hits the road for its next contest as they head to Chestnut Hill College Wednesday evening at 6PM. The Lions defeated the Griffins, 73-67, back on December 17 in the Wellness Center.
