No. 23 University of the District of Columbia Women’s Basketball Suffers Lopsided Loss to C.W. Post in Season Finale

BROOKVILLE, NY –  The No. 23 University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team suffered a 78-60 loss in its season finale Saturday at C.W. Post.

"You've got to give C.W. Post credit - they played an excellent game today," head coach Lester Butler, Jr. said. "They wanted the game a little more than us today. We had a chance to claim a share of the regular season title, and we just didn't play our best basketball."

The Firebirds, who were outrebounded 49-38  and allowed 21 second-chance points, fell to 21-5 overall and 12-4 in league play to end the regular season. They will be the No. 2 seed in next week's East Coast Conference Tournament, where they will meet the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 quarterfinal game in the semifinals.

C.W. Post, which shot 49-percent from the field and outscored UDC 44-30 in the second half, improved to 20-8 overall and 11-5 in the ECC. The Pioneers will be a No. 3 or No. 4 seed depending on the final of today's St. Thomas Aquinas game vs. Mercy.

Senior forward Dohnay Banice (Wilmington, DE – Williamson HS) led three Firebird scorers in double-figures with 15 points and eight rebounds. Guards Lauren Brittingham (Washington, DC – Potomac HS) and Ty Abilla (Galloway, NJ – Absegami HS) also scored 11 points apiece. Brittingham also handed out a season-high nine assists.

Stacy Griffith (Fredericksburg, VA – Riverbend HS) scored the first two points of the game, but C.W. Post answered with a 7-0 run and would never trail again for the rest of the day. After a three-pointer by Janelle Junior (Riverside, CA – La Sierra HS) ended a three-minute UDC dry-spell, the Pioneers  went on another 7-0 charge that extended their lead to 14-5 at the 14:18 mark. C.W. Post led by as many as 11 (25-14) before the Firebirds used a 10-0 surge to cut the deficit to one after a conventional three-point play by Dohnay Banice just past the seven-minute mark. Alexis Peters stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer, and Post out-scored UDC 9-6 to close out the half and take a 34-30 lead at the break.

Junior buried a three-pointer to start things off in the second-half and cut the deficit to one, but seven straight points by the Pioneers pushed their lead back to eight. A Brittingham three-pointer and two Abilla layups comprised a 7-1 Firebirds run to close the gap to 42-40 at the 15:17 mark, but it was all Pioneers from there. C.W. Post used a 22-2 blitz over the next 7:17 to take firm control of the game, 64-44 at the eight-minute mark. The Pioneers went on to even the season series with a comfortable, 78-60 win.