Hunter Lyle – Sports Writer
In an NE-10 Conference matchup, the women’s basketball team were handed their worst loss of the season after being outpaced and outshot by the Adelphi University Panthers.
The Owls (5-2, 2-2 in conference play) came into the game after losing their first game of the season to rival University of New Haven on Nov. 28th, and looked to get back on track by beating the Panthers (5-3, 3-1).
As the game started, the Owls were able to gather a brief 12-4 lead, but poor shooting and offensive struggles kept the game close. Adelphi’s full court press mixed with a handful of unforced turnovers and porous defense left the Owls down one at the end of the first quarter.
It didn’t get better in the second quarter, as the Owls struggled to string together multiple scoring possessions on offense. Shooting off 20 percent from the floor (3-15) and 14.3 percent from deep (1-7), Southern only scored eight points in the second and looked at a 36-27 deficit going into the break at halftime.
Junior forward Jessica Fressle said the inability to score was the team’s major downfall.
“I think it comes down to hitting shots in our home court,” said Fressle, “and just being ready in practice so it transfers over to games.”
The Owls fired out of the half, and an 11-7 run put them within three with only one quarter of play left in the game.
The momentum ended there, the fourth quarter being the worst offensive showing
for the team all year. The team shot 16.7 percent and was not able to connect on a single three-pointer. The Panthers, on the other hand, relied on their behemoth of a center, German redshirt junior Leonie Edringer, who wreaked havoc in the paint on both sides of the floor and ended with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
In the fourth quarter, Adelphi shot 60 percent from the floor and ended the game with a 16-point lead.
“Our momentum kind of stopped and we just stopped doing the little things, especially on defense,” said senior guard Amanda Pfohl. “I think our defense didn’t translate into our offense, and our offense didn’t translate into our defense.”
With the next two games being on the road, head coach Kate Lynch said needs to prepare by looking at themselves.
“We look at a lot of film of ourselves. I think at this point, a little less on everybody else,
a little more on us,” said Lynch. “It’s not fun to lose, nobody likes it, but if you’re not learning when you’re losing then you’re not doing something right.”
Pfohl said that she is determined to win the next game, no matter what it takes.
“I hate losing. I hate losing twice in a row, I think we should never lose twice in a row. So, losing three times in a row is not going to happen. It’s just not in the equation for us,” said Pfohl. “We’re going to do whatever we have to do, we only have one day of prep but we’re going to get the W whether it looks pretty or not.”
Photo Credit: Southernctowls.com