Firebirds Women’s Basketball Scorches St. Augustine’s, 92-79

RALEIGH, NC – The Firebirds blew past the Falcons with a 17-4 run late in the first half and the University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team cruised to a 92-79 road victory over non-conference foe St. Augustine's on Wednesday evening at Emery Gymanisum.

After starting the season 0-2, the Firebirds have now won three of their last four games to even their record at 3-3. Their 92 points tonight was the highest scoring output by a District of Columbia team since February 12^th, 2011 when they posted 98 points in a lopsided win over Salem International. The Falcons, who compete in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, fell to 1-3 overall.

Sophomore guard Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering – Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS) led all Firebird scorers with 19 points on 8-of-11 FG shooting. Junior forward Robin Keke (Biology – Bowie, MD/Bowie HS) also had a hot hand, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and canning three free-throws to finish with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Meanwhile, backcourt mates, sophomore Jadda Jefferies (Criminal Justice – Burlington, NC/Hugh H. Cummings HS) and senior Janelle Junior (Administration of Justice – Riverside, CA/La Sierra HS) tallied 13 points apiece and junior point guard Teara Shaw (Health Education – Bronx, NY/John F. Kennedy HS) handed out a season-high 10 assists.

St. Augustine's Jeanne-Marie Wilson led four Falcons in double-figures with a game-high 21 points. Porscha Walton added 14 points, Temperance Jacobs pitched in 12 and four assists, and Jasmine Cuffee registered 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.

The Firebirds shot a scintillating 61-percent from the field in the first half (59-percent for the game) despite 2-of-11 shooting from behind-the-arc, and took a comfortably 51-38 advantage into halftime. They trailed by one (29-28) as late as the 7:39 mark in that first stanza, but Jefferies ignited and capped a 17-4 surge with two three-pointers over the next five minutes to give the visitors a 45-33 lead, and District of Columbia never looked back.

Still a 12-point game almost three minutes into the second frame, the Firebirds outscored St. Augustine's 22-9 over the next 7:12 to take their largest lead of the night, 79-54 with just under 10 minutes left to play. The Falcons closed the gap to 12 with a 13-2 run in the waning minutes of regulation, but it was too little too late as the Firebirds went on to win, 92-79.

Eleven of the 13 players suited up for District of Columbia entered the scoring column as the Firebirds more than doubled-up the Falcons in bench points, 48-23. The Firebirds shot so well from the field (40-of-68), it made up for 4-of-16 (25-percent) three-point shooting and 8-of-22 (36-percent) free-throw shooting. More than two-thirds of District of Columbia's point total came from points in the paint, as the Firebirds held a 62-46 advantage in that category as well. St. Augustine's shot at a 40-percent clip (29-of-72) from the field and fared much better at the free-throw line (17-of-32, 53-percent), but it was not enough to keep pace with the red-hot Firebirds.

Next up, the Firebirds will visit their cross town rival Bowie State on Saturday, December 1^st at 2 p.m.