Firebird Women’s Basketball Struck Down By Lightning in 70-63 Loss

SPARKILL, NY – Senior guard Janelle Junior scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field (6-of-8 from behind-the-arc), but the University of the District of Columbia suffered a 70-63 loss to Goldey-Beacom College in the second round of the ECC/CACC Challenge on Saturday afternoon at Aquinas Hall.

Rebounding once again hurt the Firebirds (0-2), as the Lightning held a 43-29 edge on the glass, including a 16-7 disparity on the offensive boards which led to 15 GBC second-chance points. Field goal shooting was even with both teams shooting around a 43-percent clip, but Goldey-Beacom made out much better at the free-throw line (69-percent to 56-percent) where they shot nearly three times as many free-throws (26 to 9).

Led by Junior's hot outside shooting, the Firebirds did have a decisive edge in three-point shooting (10-of-15 to 2-of-8) and in bench points (24-13). Junior guard Teara Shaw (Health Education – Bronx, NY/John F. Kennedy HS) also added 11 points on 5-of-8 field goal shooting while adding a team-best four assists.

Goldey-Beacom (2-0) was led by its starting point guard Devonne Richardson, who registered 17 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals in a stellar complete game effort. Irene Hudson also tallied 17 points while pulling down eight rebounds and handing out four assists, and Akilah Sewell grabbed a game-high 12 boards while pitching in nine points and three blocked shots.

The Firebirds were raining threes early in the game, as Junior knocked down two consecutive long-range bombs and freshman Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore (Public Health – Newport News, VA/Denbigh HS) buried another to help District of Columbia keep pace with the Lightning early on with a narrow, 11-10 lead. After the two teams battled back and forth to four consecutive ties, the Lightning broke a 19-all deadlock with a 6-1 run, culminating in a layup by Jacinda Jones to put GBC ahead, 25-20 just before the six-minute mark. But District of Columbia came storming back with a 10-0 run that included three long-range bombs by three different Firebirds players, including a four-point play by Junior to put her team up, 30-25 with under four minutes to play in the first half. Junior sank her fourth three-pointer of the first half right at the three-minute mark to put the Firebirds up 33-27 when the Lightning went on a 7-0 surge to pull ahead, 34-33. Junior center Monet Nias (Criminology – Glen Burnie, MD/Old Mill HS) answered for District of Columbia by scoring the final four points of the half though, as the Firebirds took a 37-34 lead into intermission.

The Lightning struck early in the second half, twice closing the deficit to two before three straight points by the Firebirds extended their lead to 42-37 nearing the 18-minute mark. GBC went on to score the next six straight points, however, as the Lightning claimed their first lead of the second half, 43-42 after a layup by Hudson just before the 15-minute mark. Junior gave the Firebirds back the lead, 49-48 with her fifth three-pointer of the day at the 12:39 mark, but an 11-3 run by Goldey-Beacom put the Lightning in control, 59-52 as the clock approached eight minutes. The Firebirds never got closer than six points from that point on, as GBC went on to win by a seven point cushion, 70-63.

District of Columbia will look to claim its first win of the season as the Firebirds visit crosstown rival Washington Adventist on Tuesday, November 13^th at 6 p.m.