Lady Firebirds Fall to Pitt-Johnstown 57-67

Washington, DC: January 29, 2007—The 14-4 Lady Cats of the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown proved to be too much for the University of the District of Columbia Lady Firebirds to handle tonight, as they fell to the Lady Cats 57-67 in Washington, DC. Senior forward Jessica Zapf led the Lady Cats to the win with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Allison Krischer joined her in double figures scoring 17 points, grabbing 2 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists.

The first half saw the Lady Cats jump out to a 10 point lead on a lay-up by Allison Krischer at the 7:39 mark, but the Lady Firebirds were persistent, cutting the lead to 29-23 at the break. First half two point field goal shooting was fairly close, with UPJ hitting 39 percent (13-33) to UDC’s 35 percent (9-26). The Lady Firebirds made 3-10 three point shots, while the Lady Cats hit only 2-17.

UDC took the second of two leads during the game at 18:45 of the second half on a lay-up by junior guard Ashley Alexander (Washington, DC), with an assist from sophomore guard Robin Williams (Bronx, NY) to make the score 30-29. The teams exchanged shots and kept the score fairly close until UPJ began to pull away with six minutes remaining when Krista Britcher scored on a jump shot to make the score 52-45 and give them a 7 point lead. UPJ then opened a 9 point lead before UDC got the score back down to 7 at on a lay-up by Robin Williams at the 2:54 mark. But the Lady Firebirds would not catch-up as the Lady Cats finished them off with a 10 point lead to end the game.

UPJ made 41 percent (24-59) of their two point shots, and 81 percent (17-21) of their free throws for the win, as UDC shot only 38 percent (21-55) from two point range and hit 9-13 free throws, while making only 6-22 free throw attempts.

Alexander led the Lady Firebirds in scoring with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals. Robin Williams and senior Jennifer Jones scored 1o points each, with Jones pulling down 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

The 9-12 Lady Firebirds will be back in action Wednesday, January 31, when they travel to Cheyney, Pennsylvania to take on the Lady Wolves of Cheyney University.