District of Columbia Defeats St. Thomas Aquinas in Battle of Unbeatens

SPARKILL, NY - The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team led by five at halftime and never trailed in the second half, as the Firebirds stayed perfect with a convincing, 76-62 victory over previously unbeaten St. Thomas Aquinas in both teams' East Coast Conference opener on Saturday afternoon at Aquinas Hall.

The Firebirds (4-0, 1-0 ECC) were led by the superior guard play of  Telisha Turner (Criminal Justice – Wilmington, DE/Harcum), Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering – Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS) and Teara Shaw (Health Education – Bronx, NY/Indian River St.). Turner scored 20 of her game-high 25 points in the second half, shooting 10-14 from the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point range. This marks her third game of 20 or more points this season. Brent, meanwhile, posted her second consecutive double-double with a season-high 20 points and a career-high tying 13 rebounds. Shaw scored all eight of her points in the first half and also dished a season-high eight assists.

STAC was led by starting forward Sabrina Eggink with team-highs of 13 points and seven rebounds. Also, freshman reserve guard Kristen Olsen registered 13 points and five rebounds, playing 28 minutes off the bench and shooting 5-of-7 from the field (3-of-4 from three-point range).

The first half featured three key runs in succession: first a 9-0 run by the Firebirds, followed by an 11-0 march by the Spartans, and finally an 11-2 answer by UDC. Consecutive three-point jump shots by sophomore reserve Tiara Goode (Criminal Justice – Brentwood, NY/Brentwood HS) were instrumental in UDC grabbing an early 18-9 lead with its initial 9-0 run. But STAC's Briana Cook and Colleen Ames combined to score the next 11 straight points to force a 20-all tie just under the five-minute mark. Turner then responded with her first basket of the game – a jumper in the paint, followed by three-pointer almost a minute later. Diamonique Carr (Criminal Justice – Camden, NJ/Harcum) followed that up with consecutive mid-range corner jump shots to cap an 11-2 Firebirds answer which gave the visitors a 29-22 lead with 1:42 left to play in the opening period. After two consecutive jumpers by Eggink brought STAC within three, Shaw split two Spartan defenders and got a scoop shot layup to go at the buzzer to make it 31-26 at intermission.

 The Firebirds came out red-hot in the second half – opening on a 14-6 run to expand their lead to 45-32 nearing the 15-minute mark. Turner scored eight points during that stretch, including back-to-back three-pointers in the opening two minutes. The Spartans closed within 45-36 on a pair of Eggink free-throws near the 13-minute mark, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the way. UDC grew its lead to as many as 20 (60-40) at the 8:14 mark and coasted to a 14-point victory.

UDC shot a blistering 55-percent from the floor, including a season-high 70-percent (7-of-10) from three-point range while holding STAC to 35-percent shooting  from the field and 38-percent from behind-the-arc (6-of-16). The Firebirds also won the battle in the paint, holding a 41-33 rebounding edge, out-scoring STAC 32-28 in the paint and 12-8 in second-chance points.

Next up, the Firebirds host non-league foe Caldwell on December 3^rd at 6 p.m. They will look to avenge a 77-64 season-opening loss last year to the Cougars and improve to 5-0.