Firebirds Suffer Narrow Defeat in ECC Barnburner vs. LIU Post

BROOKVILLE, NY – In a matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the East Coast Conference standings, the league-leading Firebirds were defeated by LIU Post, 74-72 on Thursday night at the Pratt Center.

University of the District of Columbia, which entered the game on a six-game winning streak, fell to 14-4 overall and suffered just its second league loss of the season to drop to 10-2 in the ECC. LIU Post, which evened the season series with UDC after losing the first meeting in the nation's capital, 85-75, improved to 15-5 overall and 11-2 in conference play. The Pioneers have now won 10 of their last 11 games, including their last three.

Junior forward Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering – Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS) tied for the game-high with a season-best 24-point scoring effort on 11-of-16 shooting from the field to go with six rebounds and two steals. Junior transfer guard Telisha Turner (Criminal Justice – Wilmington, DE/Harcum) added 19 points (12 of which came in the second half) and three assists, and senior guard Julissa Anderson (Criminal Justice – Greensboro, NC/Southeast Guilford HS) sparked the Firebirds off the bench with 10 points, six rebounds and a game-high three blocks.

LIU Post, meanwhile, was led offensively by guard Chelsea Williams, who shot just 4-of-11 from the field, but cashed in on 13-of-14 free-throw attempts  to finish with a game-high tying 24 points. Also, Division I transfer center Nyasia Davis dominated in the paint tonight with a season-high 19 rebounds (10 offensive, 9 defensive) and 12 points while also adding three assists and two blocked shots. Reserve guard Quanisha Ratley added 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks as well.

The Firebirds raced out to a 13-5 lead a little over seven minutes in courtesy of three consecutive buckets by Brent. She would add another jumper near the 11-minute mark to give UDC a 15-9 advantage, but a three-pointer by LIU Post's Kiki Sears kick-started a 12-0 Pioneers run over the next three minutes, culminating in a layup by Davis to put the hosts in front, 21-15. Following a timeout, consecutive baskets by senior Teara Shaw (Health Education – Bronx, NY/John F. Kennedy HS) and Shantrel Oliver (History – Columbia, MD/Chesapeake College) helped UDC pull within two near the seven-minute mark, but the Pioneers responded with a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the first half, 27-19 with 5:43 left to play in the first half. LIU Post would take a 34-27 halftime lead.

Helped by two consecutive three-pointers by Williams, the Pioneers out-scored UDC 10-5 in the first three minutes of the second half and took their largest lead of the night, 44-32. After a timeout, Turner got a jumper in the paint to go and then buried a three-pointer off of an assist by Shaw in succession to bring UDC back within seven.

Still facing a nine-point deficit with a little over 15 minutes to go, the Firebirds slowly clawed their way back by holding the Pioneers scoreless for nearly five minutes while they rattled off 10 straight points – the final three coming on a big-time shot by Anderson which gave UDC its first lead of the second half, 47-46. Over the next six minutes, LIU Post would reclaim the lead four separate times only to have Brent answer and force four consecutive ties. A layup by Ratley at the 5:50 mark would put LIU Post ahead for good though, 59-57. The Pioneers built up their lead to six (68-62) with three minutes left in regulation.

UDC made one final push, a 5-0 run that included an and-one layup by Turner, who's free-throw made it a one-point game, 68-67 with 1:24 showing on the clock. But Williams made 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute of regulation to seal the victory for LIU Post as the Pioneers hung on for a 74-72 win.

Rebounding heavily favored LIU Post tonight as the Pioneers won the battle on the boards, 48-37 and turned 23 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points. When the Firebirds beat LIU Post back in December, they had a slight, 38-35 edge in rebounding.

District of Columbia will look to bounce back on Saturday as they visit the 4^th place team in the ECC standings, NYIT. Tip-off from Old Westbury, NY is at 1 p.m.