BOX SCORE

The ACPHS women's basketball team held on to defeat the University of Cincinnati-Clermont 50-45 in the opening round of the USCAA National Championship Tournament on Thursday night. Taylor Sullivan led the Panthers with 17 points, Alyson Johnson scored 13 points while Alexa Schooley chipped in with eight points and 12 rebounds for ACPHS. With the victory, ACPHS advances to the "Final Four" and will play Penn State-Beaver on Friday night at 9:00 PM.

The opening half was all ACPHS as the Panthers dominated the game, taking a 31-13 lead into halftime, while holding UC-Clermont to just 17% shooting from the field to slowly build their lead throughout the opening 20 minutes. Early in the second half, ACPHS continued to increase their lead, at one point taking a 26 points lead (42-16) with 15 minutes left in the contest. At that point, Clermont started a huge comeback, quickly cutting into the lead by connecting on a number of jump shots and forcing turnovers from the Panthers.

With the lead dwindling down to two with under two minutes to play, ACPHS buckled down and made a few free throws to hold on for the victory to continue their magical season. The Panthers controlled the paint, holding a 51-34 rebounding advantage in the game. Sullivan and Kelsey Johnson each had nine rebounds for ACPHS who improve to 17-5 on the season with the victory.