University of the District of Columbia Women’s Basketball Earns Fifth Straight Win; Defeats Molloy, 61-49
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team won its fifth straight game and improved to 15-3 overall as the Firebirds earned a 61-49 victory in their first-ever meeting at East Coast Conference foe, Molloy College on Wednesday night at Quealy Gym.
"Molloy shot the ball really well tonight from the three-point line," head coach Lester Butler, Jr. said of Molloy's 9-of-21 three-point shooting. "But we got key defensive stops down the stretch and rebounded the ball to secure the win."
District of Columbia, which improved to 6-2 in the ECC, took advantage of a 40-26 rebounding edge and outscored MC 30-10 in the paint. The Firebirds were led by senior forward Dohnay Banice (Wilmington, DE – Williamson HS), who registered her sixth double-double of the season of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Lauren Brittingham (Washington, DC – Potomac HS) had another terrific all-around performance with 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals, and senior forward Stacy Griffith (Fredericksburg, VA – Riverbend) pitched in with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Molloy put two scorers in double-figures in Julia Finlay and Amanda Bartlett. Finlay made 6-of-9 from three-point range to finish with a team-high 18 points and Bartlett finished with 12.
The Firebirds may have run away with the game in the first half if not for 5-of-6 three-point shooting by Molloy's Julia Finlay. Brittingham drove straight to the basket for two layups on the Firebirds' first two possessions of the game, and also twice dished to a wide-open Banice in the paint for two easy buckets, as UDC took a 12-3 lead almost six minutes into the action. After a pair of free-throws by Ikema Ross cut the deficit to seven for the Lions, Finlay began to heat up. The junior Division I transfer made her first four shots from downtown, helping the hosts pull within 21-17 on her fourth make at the 8:33 mark. With 4:15 to play before the break, Finlay would bury her fifth three-pointer of the half to knot the score at 23-all, but UDC took back control of the game with a 7-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer by Julissa Anderson (Greensboro, NC – Southeast Guilford). The Firebirds took a 32-26 advantage into intermission.
Junior guard Janelle Junior (Riverside, CA – La Sierra HS) knocked down a three-pointer to start things off out of the break, and UDC outscored Molloy 6-2 in the first 4:20 to pull ahead, 38-28. The Firebirds led 42-36 almost halfway through the second frame when they put the game out of reach with a 6-0 run to go up 48-36. Twice the Lions pulled with seven, but UDC made 5-of-8 free-throws down the stretch and held Molloy scoreless for the final 2:33 to win by a final score of 61-49.
"Dohnay and Stacy rebounded and scored consistently all night," Butler said. "Lauren played a really good all-around game, scoring, passing and rebounding tonight. And Ty [Abilla], Julissa [Anderson] and Aida [Gueye] continue to give us good minutes off of the bench."
UDC will host the rematch against ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday, January 28th at 1:00 p.m. The game will be part of UDC's Youth Day event.