Firebirds Visit Undefeated NYIT in First ECC Tilt of 2013
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dist. Columbia (6-7, 1-2 ECC) | 31 | 23 | 54 |
|
NYIT (11-0, 3-0 ECC) | 37 | 37 | 74 |
2012-13 University of the District of Columbia Women's Basketball Game Notes
District of Columbia (6-6, 1-1 ECC) at NYIT (10-0, 2-0 ECC)
Saturday, January 5th – Recreation Hall (Old Westbury, NY)
Opening Tip-Off
The Firebirds return to East Coast Conference play Saturday, January 5th as they visit undefeated NYIT. Tip-off at Recreation Hall is at 12 p.m. Follow Live Stats and Live Video, courtesy of NYIT.
Updating the Firebirds
District of Columbia split games at their D.C. Winter Classic Tournament last weekend, first beating Felician, 67-51 on Saturday, and then suffering a 50-39 loss to No. 26 Assumption on Sunday. The Firebirds come into Saturday's game with a record of 6-6 overall and 1-1 in league play. They are led offensively by senior guard Janelle Junior (Administration of Justice – Riverside, CA/La Sierra HS) and sophomore guard Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering – Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS). Junior, who was named to the D.C. Winter Classic All-Tournament Team last weekend, averages a team-high 13.0 points per-game as well as a team-best 2.3 steals per-game. She also shoots an ECC-4th best, 38.7-percent from behind-the-arc. Brent comes in averaging 10.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per-game. The team is 6-1 when she scores in double-figures and 0-5 when she does not.
Scouting NYIT
The undefeated Bears are not just winning, but mauling their opponents this season by an NCAA-8th best average of 22.3 points per-game. They lead the nation in assists per-game (21.0), rank 3rd in steals per-game (16.7), and 8th in turnover margin (8.67). NYIT is led offensively by their two guards, Nikki Jo Rotolo and Rebecca Lynch. Rotolo ranks 8th in the nation in assists per-game (6.0), scores a team-high 13.6 points per-game and pulls down an ECC-4th best 9.4 rebounds per-game. Lynch averages just a shade under Rotolo at 13.3 points per-game and shoots an ECC-2nd best 54.6-percent from the field. The Bears won on the road at Post University their last time out on December 30th by a score of 89-69 on the strength of Lynch's 20 points and Rotolo's 10 rebounds.
The Matchup
The Firebirds seemed to like the role of visiting team early in the season, winning their first three road games by an average of 16.7 points. However, their last road game saw them fall behind to Bridgeport, 20-2 and never get their footing in a 58-43 loss. Meanwhile, NYIT is 5-0 this year at home, beating its guests by an average of 22.5 points per-game. District of Columbia owns a commanding 8-1 lead in the all-time series, including a season-sweep of the Bears last year. The Firebirds won the last meeting between these two ECC foes on February 8th at Recreation Center, 59-52.