New Haven, Conn. (January 31) -- Assumption rallied from a double-digit margin in the second half to cut the lead down to four points in the final minute before dropping a 71-63 final to Southern Connecticut on Tuesday night at the Moore Fieldhouse. Assumption is receiving votes in this week's USA Today/ESPN Division II National Top 25 Poll.

The Owls jumped out to an 11-0 lead over the first 3:21 before the Hounds got on the board with a pair of free throws from senior All-American candidate Kelly Meredith (Franklin, Mass./Franklin). Southern continued its hot shooting though and extended the lead to as many as 21 points at 39-18 with three minutes left in the half. Assumption used seven points from Gabrielle Gibson (Amityville, N.Y./Copiague) though to close the half on a 13-4 run to make it a 43-31 margin heading into halftime.

Southern Connecticut stretched the lead back to 15 at 54-39 with 12:19 left before the Hounds put up a 10-0 run, capped by a putback from Jamie Insel (Clinton, N.J./Voorhees) to make it a 54-49 score and force an Owl timeout. The Owls came out of the timeout and stretched the lead back to eight at 59-51 before a Meredith free throw and a Gibson three pulled the Hounds within four at 59-55 with 4:26 on the clock. The two teams traded three-pointers and after a number of chances on both sides, the game headed into the final 1:08 at a 62-58 margin in favor of the Owls.

After three free throws from Alex Fiola made it a 65-58 score with 1:08 left, Insel was fouled for the Hounds and knocked down the first free throw. After she missed the second, Meredith pulled down the rebound and scored on the putback to make it 65-61 with 46.9 left. A pair of free throws from Lauren Allen stretched the advantage back to six before Insel scored on a putback to make it a 68-63 margin with 17.9 on the clock. Southern Connecticut knocked down three free throws in the final seconds to account for the eight-point final and split the regular-season series.

Meredith finished the game with 24 points and now sits in third place on the Assumption all-time scoring list with 1,488 career points. Gibson also finished in double figures with 15 points, while Insel had seven points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Fiola paced three Owls in double figures with 20 points.

With the loss, Assumption falls to 14-6 overall and 11-5 in the Northeast-10, while Southern Connecticut has now won 15 straight and sits at 17-3 overall and 14-2 in league play.

Assumption is back in action on Saturday, February 4 as the Hounds host Le Moyne College for a 1:30 p.m. start at Laska Gym. That game is available live online at www.assumptiongreyhounds.tv.