Late Firebirds Rally Falls Short in 78-74 Loss at Roberts Wesleyan

ROCHESTER, NY – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team suffered its first East Coast Conference loss of the season as the Firebirds' late rally fell short in a 78-74 loss at Roberts Wesleyan Friday night at Voller Athletic Center.

UDC (8-3, 4-1 ECC) closed out the first half on an 11-3 run to take a 41-38 lead at intermission, but even a furious, 9-2 run in the waning minutes of regulation was not enough to overcome a cold, 27-percent (10-of-37) field goal shooting display in the second half which allowed RWC to go up by as many as 13. Junior transfer guard Telisha Turner (Criminal Justice – Wilmington, DE/Harcum), the ECC's leading scorer, registered a team-high 21 points on 7-of-16 from the field and a game-best 6-of-9 from three-point range.

The Redhawks (6-6, 2-4 ECC) shot 53-percent from the field for the night and dominated the rebounding battle, 49-29 as they snapped a five-game losing streak. RWC's three forwards carried most of the scoring load: Chelsea Sanders registered a game-high 25 points with nine rebounds, reserve Samantha Courtney added 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and Marissa Sell pitched in 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Senior guard Snezana Blagojevic (Business Management – Kragujevac, Serbia/Shepherd), making her first start of the season, scored the Firebirds' first five points of the night and helped UDC keep pace early on. The Firebirds still trailed 10-9 after a jumper by junior transfer guard Diamonique Carr (Criminal Justice – Camden, NJ/Medical Arts HS) at the 13:46 mark when RWC used a pair of jumpers by Courtney and a pair of three-pointers by reserve guard Jenna Johnson (six points) to go on a 10-0 run and claim a 20-9 advantage just before the 12-minute mark.

At that point, Turner steered the Firebirds back into the game with three consecutive three-pointers, followed by consecutive baskets by junior forward Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering – Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS), all adding up to a 13-2 surge which forced a 22-all tie at the 8:38 mark. Still tied at 29 with a little over six minutes to play, the Redhawks cashed in on six straight free-throws as part of a 6-1 run to pull ahead, 35-30 just past the 4-minute mark, but the Firebirds went on a relentless, 11-0 surge highlighted by a three-pointer each from Turner and junior transfer guard ShaKena Williams (Accounting – Washington, DC/Frederick CC) to take what would be their largest lead of the night, 41-35. RWC scored the final three points of the half to make it 41-38 at intermission.

The Redhawks opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 45-41 lead, and they would never trail the rest of the game. Blagojevic added her season-high third three-pointer of the night to temporarily stop the bleeding and bring UDC within one (45-44), but RWC out-scored UDC 21-9 over the next nine minutes to take their largest lead of the night, 66-53 with 8:50 left to play in regulation.

Still trailing 68-58 at the 6:50 mark, a three-pointer by senior guard Julissa Anderson (Criminal Justice – Greensboro, NC/Southeast Guilford HS) helped the Firebirds begin to claw their way back into the game with a 7-2 run which brought them within five, 70-65 with about four-and-a-half minutes remaining. Back-to-back layups by Sanders and Courtney pushed the RWC lead back up to nine, but Turner buried a three-pointer to make it a six-point game with just under a minute left on the clock. Following two free-throws by RWC made it 76-68, Turner knocked down her sixth and final three-pointer of the night and then forced a steal which led to another three-pointer by Oliver which made it, 76-74 with just 20 seconds to play. (UDC shot an impressive 13-of-24 from three-point range as a team on the night)

The Firebirds immediately fouled Lakiah Huff on the ensuing Redhawks possession following a timeout, and Huff made 1-of-2 at the line to make it a three-point game, 77-74.  Turner was then whistled for an offensive charge, which gave RWC back the ball with 12 seconds remaining. The Firebirds immediately fouled Sanders on the inbounds pass, but Sanders made 1-of-2 to seal the victory, 78-74.

RWC, which has now beaten UDC both times on its home floor since joining the conference in 2012-13, out-scored UDC 28-17 in the paint, and registered 21 second-chance points off of 18 offensive rebounds. UDC forced 29 Redhawks turnovers which it cashed in for 21 points, but UDC also turned it over 18 times and shot just 37-percent (25-of-68) from the field for the night.

The Firebirds will continue their Northwest NY swing as they visit ECC newcomer, Daemen on Sunday, January 12^th at 1 p.m.