Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
Home of the Firebirds
Coach Butler, Mrs. Virginia McGill, Lillian McGill, A.D. Patricia Thomas,Niqky Hughes and Regina Brown pose for Senior Day photograph
Coach Butler, Mrs. Virginia McGill, Lillian McGill, A.D. Patricia Thomas,Niqky Hughes and Regina Brown pose for Senior Day photograph
Posted: Feb 27, 2011

Firebirds end season with 84-60 win over Urbana

Audio Box Score

 

Washington, DC: February 27, 2011 – The UDC women's basketball team (19-9) celebrated "senior day" with an 84-60 trumping of the Urbana University Blue Knights (11-17) today at the UDC sports complex.

 The game was part of the 2011 Independent Invitational Women's Basketball Classic, and third place in the tournament was on the line. As a result, the Firebirds made sure to bring their "A" game defensively, which they used to jump out to a 14-point lead in the first six minutes of the game.

 UDC forced 13 turnovers in the first half, and turned them into 18 points. They also held the Blue Knights to just 3 of 9 (33.3%) shooting from beyond the arc, while they went 5 of 8 (62.5%) from the same distance. The Firebirds overall field goal percentage in the half was the same as their three-point field goal percentage, mostly due to the number of close looks they were able to convert.

 UDC outscored Urbana 26-6 in the paint in the first half, and that dominance continued in the second period when the Firebirds outscored the Blue Knights 20-8. A big reason for the Firebirds success was senior forward Lillian McGill (Admin. Of Justice – Sumter, SC), who led the team with 19 points and 8 rebounds in her final collegiate game.

 McGill's big presence inside is nothing new for the Firebirds, for whom she has been playing the past four years. McGill finishes her outstanding UDC career with over 1,400 points and over 1,100 rebounds. She has also been a part of 78 UDC wins, which is the most of any player under head coach Lester Butler.

 

The other Firebird closing out her UDC career this afternoon was graduate student Niqky Hughes (Public Administration – Fort Worth, TX), who finished the game with 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field. Hughes transferred to UDC from the University of North Texas with one year of eligibility remaining, and the Firebirds are certainly glad she made that decision as she poured in more than 250 points over the course of the season.

 Both Hughes and McGill were named to the all-tournament team following the game, and while both will leave behind some pretty big shoes to fill next season, freshman forward Dohnay Banice (Business Administration – Wilmington, DE) showed today why there should be optimism surrounding the team going into next season as well.

 Banice finished with 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the field, and also collected 5 boards. It was her second game this tournament with at least 15 points.

 UDC concludes the season with an overall record of 19-9, which is a seven win improvement over last season. The Firebirds finish 13-2 at home, 6-5 away, and 0-2 on a neutral court.