Stacy Griffith leads UDC scoring with 9 points
Stacy Griffith leads UDC scoring with 9 points

UDC Stunned, Loses to Tusculum, 72-40

Washington, D C: December 12, 2009-The Tusculum College Pioneers stunned the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds Women's Basketball Team this afternoon, beating them by 32 points, 72-40, at the Sports Complex. Kendal Baxter paced the Pioneers to the victory with 20 points in 19 minutes of play.

 It was mostly all Tusculum, as they led the entire game, playing an effective defensive game, disrupting the UDC offense and scoring at will.  The Pioneers smothering defense featured 6'8" Catherine Hintz, who clogged up the middle and limited UDC's offense to only 40 points.

 Scoring in double figures for the Pioneers in addition to Baxter was Jasmine Gunn with 13 points and Kat Spears with 11. No UDC player reached double figures today, which is rare for the Firebirds.

 The Firebirds were led by sophomore forward Stacy Griffith (Fredericksburg, VA) with 9 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal. Freshman guard Ty Abilla (Galloway, NJ) followed with 7 points and 1 assist, while junior guard Tiffany Church (Norfolk, VA) added 5 points, 1 assist and 1 steal. UDC's star center, Lillian McGill, was limited to 2 points in 23 minutes of play for the first time in her career, as she was doubled and tripled teamed throughout the game, while being denied possession of the ball.

Tusculum shot 45 percent (24 for 53) in field goals, 44 percent (7 for 16) from behind the arc and 55 percent (17 of 31) from the charity stripe. UDC shot 40 percent (14 for 35) in field goals, 14 percent (1 for 7) from three point range, and made 11 of 23 (48 percent) free-throws.

UDC fell to 3-7, with this loss, while Tusculum improved to 5-1. The Firebirds return to action on Monday, December 14, at 6 p.m., at home against the Shaw University Bears.