District of Columbia Dominates Down the Stretch in 84-68 Win Over Molloy
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Molloy (8-6, 5-2 ECC) | 33 | 35 | 68 |
|
Dist. Columbia (10-3, 6-1 ECC) | 34 | 50 | 84 |
WASHINGTON, DC – In a battle between two of the three teams tied for 2nd place in the East Coast Conference standings, the University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team out-scored Molloy 40-22 in the final 13:35 of regulation en-route to a convincing, 84-68 win on Wednesday night in the nation's capital.
With the win, the Firebirds improve to 10-3 overall and take sole possession of 2nd place in the ECC standings with a 6-1 league record. UDC will host 1st place Queens (7-1) on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Molloy has now lost four of its last six and fell to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in the ECC.
Junior forward Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering – Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS) and junior transfer shooting guard ShaKena Williams (Accounting – Washington, DC/Frederick CC) paced District of Columbia in the first half. Brent scored 11 of her 19 points and grabbed nine of her season-high tying 13 rebounds all in the first half, and Williams knocked down three shots from behind-the-arc for nine of her 11 points. The second half belonged to junior transfer guard Telisha Turner (Criminal Justice – Wilmington, DE/Harcum) as the 2nd leading scorer in the ECC erupted for 22 of her game-high 24 points.
The Lions were led by the outside shooting of guards Nicole Arnone (17 pts), Alexia O'Connor (13 pts) and Kelly Guerriero (nine pts). Molloy made 7-of-17 from three-point range in the first half, but was held to just 3-of-9 long-range shooting in the closing period.
Molloy connected on seven of its first 11 three-point attempts in the first 10:30 of regulation – three by Arnone and two apiece by Guerriero and guard Alexia Connor. With the last of those seven three-pointers, the Lions snatched a 27-15 lead a little more than halfway into the opening period. At that point, sophomore guard Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore ignited a 12-0 Firebirds surge with consecutive baskets followed later by two three-pointers from Williams to force a 27-all tie near the six-minute mark. The Lions out-scored UDC 6-1 over the next three minutes, going up 33-28 on a layup by Ally Leftridge with a little under three minutes remaining in the first half, but Brent, Turner and senior reserve guard Julissa Anderson (Criminal Justice – Greensboro, NC/Southeast Guilford HS) each knocked down jump shots in succession as part of a 6-0 run to end the half, giving the Firebirds a slight, 34-33 edge at the intermission.
The Lions raced out to a 6-0 run to open the second half and took a 39-34 lead with not even two minutes gone by once play resumed, but UDC came right back with a 6-0 response, led by Brent's assist and two buckets. There were three ties and three lead changes before a pair of free-throws by Turner at the 12:39 mark put UDC in front for good. Molloy enjoyed its last lead of the night, 46-44 courtesy of a jumper by Arnone at the 13:35 mark. Over the next six minutes, the Firebirds out-scored their guests 22-7, with Turner scoring eight points over that stretch to guide UDC to a comfortable, 66-53 lead with 7:29 left in regulation. The Firebirds were able to maintain a double-digit lead the remainder of the game, and went on to win by their largest margin of the night, 84-68.
The biggest discrepancies in an otherwise evenly-played contest were rebounding and free-throw shooting, as the Firebirds enjoyed a 52-32 advantage on the boards and out-shot their guests 73-percent (19-of-26) to 18-percent (2-of-11) at the stripe. UDC collected 20 second-chance points on 17 offensive rebounds for the night.
UDC is now 5-0 against Molloy since joining the conference in 2011-12. The Firebirds are also 4-0 at home in league play heading into Saturday's showdown with 1st place Queens.