First Half Surge Leads to Firebirds Victory Over Bridgeport

WASHINGTON, DC – The Firebirds shot a blistering 56-percent from the field in the first half en-route to a 30-point cushion at the intermission, and they simply coasted in the second half to an 87-59 victory over East Coast Conference foe Bridgeport in a make-up game Monday night in the nation's capital.

The Firebirds improved to 16-4 overall and 12-2 in league play, forcing a tie for 1^st place in the ECC standings with LIU Post. UDC has now won eight of its last nine games, including the last two which were by an average of nearly 26 points. Bridgeport fell to 6-15 overall and 4-11 in league play as the Purple Knights have lost five of their last six games.

Ten different UDC players entered the scoring column tonight, led by a 20-point effort by junior transfer guard Telisha Turner (Criminal Justice – Wilmington, DE/Harcum). Turner, who entered the game leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage, made 6-of-10 from behind-the-arc tonight. Sophomore forward Tatyana Calhoun (Environmental Science – Disputanta, VA/Sussex Central) missed her first three layups of the game, but then made six in a row and 4-of-5 free-throws to finish with 16 points and six rebounds. Junior forward Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering – Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS), who has earned ECC weekly honor roll four consecutive weeks, was one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. Also, sophomore Tiara Goode sparked the Firebirds off the bench with her third double-figure scoring game this season of 13 points to go with a season-high eight rebounds, and junior transfer guard ShaKena Williams added a season and game-high 12 rebounds.

The Purple Knights were led offensively by guards Tiara Aziz (14 points) and Jenna Hoffman (12 points). Also, Latasia Ward registered a team-high 10 rebounds and game-high five steals.

Brent made her first four shots of the night and sophomore guard Shantrel Oliver (History – Columbia, MD/River Hill HS) and Turner knocked down three-pointers in succession as the Firebirds raced out to an 18-6 lead in the first eight minutes of play. Already leading 20-10 with just under 10 minutes left in the opening half, the Firebirds continued their three-point assault, with Turner canning two and Goode adding a third during a 17-3 power-surge over the next 5:15. Having out-shot their guests 56-percent to 27-percent from the field and 46-percent to 11-percent from three-point range, UDC went on to take its largest lead of the half, 50-20, into the intermission.

A lay-up by Calhoun nearly a minute back into the action opened the scoring in the second half and gave the Firebirds their largest lead of the night, 52-20. Bridgeport closed the gap to 24 with an 11-3 run over the next two minutes, culminating in six consecutive points (a three-pointer and a conventional three-point play) by Jennifer Kucukkaya (9 pts). Turner answered for UDC with another of her three-pointers, and the Firebird lead was back up to 27 with about 16:30 left to play.

The Firebirds led 64-35 just past the 13-minute mark when the Purple Knights went on a 10-2 charge to close within 21 with 8:43 remaining in the game. They would pull within 21 twice more, but would never get any closer than that. Senior guard Julissa Anderson (Criminal Justice – Greensboro, NC/Southeast Guilford HS) scored all seven of her points in the final three minutes of regulation, helping UDC go on to win by a final of 87-59.

Next up, UDC will host ECC newcomer Daemen (7-16, 4-13 ECC) on Friday, February 14^th at 7 p.m. The Firebirds, who have already swept three ECC foes this season, will look to complete the season sweep of the Wildcats with a victory on Friday night.