The Albright College women's basketball team kept Arcadia quiet for most of the second half, holding off the Knights 62-55 on Wednesday in the Bollman Center.

Junior Jessica Venturelli had 14 points and four assists for Albright, both game-highs, and made 8-of-10 free throw attempts. Sophomore Kelecia Harris had 10 points and four blocks, while classmate Emily O'Donnell added nine points and six rebounds.

Albright opened the game on an 8-0 run that was answered immediately by a 12-0 stretch from the visitors.

Venturelli hit two technical foul shots before tip-off, and the Lions went right to Harris on an entry pass for a 4-0 lead. Shannon Thomas and Venturelli followed with hard drives to double the early advantage and force an Arcadia timeout, just 1:27 into the action.

Arcadia got right back into the game, tying it at 8-8 on a Dominique Hassinger put-back. Hassinger scored again to stretch the Knights' run to 12-8 before Venturelli stopped the momentum with a put-back of her own.

Albright had to play the 10 minutes before halftime without their best player after Harris picked up a second foul, but the Lions hung tough to take a 37-30 lead into the locker room.

Amanda Tiritilli's three-pointer with 7:40 remaining gave Albright a 21-20 lead. Kadijah Bishop (game-high three steals) then stole a pass and went coast-to-coast for a two-point Lion advantage. In the final seconds of the half Thomas rejected a shot, grabbed the rebound, and hit Kristi McFadden with an outlet for an eventual three-point play.

Thomas opened the second half with a baseline shot for a 39-30 Albright lead. Venturelli made her first free throw and then followed up her own miss for two more points and a 44-34 double-digit gap.

Harris' and-one gave Albright a 47-36 lead midway through the second half, but she then picked up two quick fouls and had to sit again.

The Lions' defense clamped down again however, and Boyle banked in a basket off an inbounds with the shot clock winding down to keep Albright ahead 53-44 late.

Sophomore guard Samantha Caligiuri had a team-high 14 points for Arcadia, while classmate Hassinger added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Albright improves to 3-2, 1-1 and hands Arcadia (5-1, 0-1) its first loss of the season. The Lions will travel across town Saturday for a 1 p.m. game against rival Alvernia.