Second Half Nosedive Sends Firebirds to Second Straight Loss

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY – The Firebirds' 11-point first half lead evaporated in the second half as the Lions heated up and the Firebirds cooled off, resulting in the University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team's second straight loss, 70-59 at Molloy on Saturday afternoon.

UDC (18-6, 14-4 ECC) is now tied with Queens for 2^nd place in the East Coast Conference standings as the Firebirds lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season. Molloy, winners of its last three games, remains in 5^th place with a league mark of 10-7 and 13-11 overall.

Junior transfer guard Telisha Turner (Criminal Justice – Wilmington, DE/Harcum) led the Firebirds with team-highs of 19 points, three assists and two steals. Junior forward Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering – Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS) hauled in a team-best nine rebounds but struggled to 1-of-7 FG shooting and produced just four points. This was just the third time this season Brent failed to score in double-figures, and the Firebirds are 0-3 in those games.

Sophomore guards Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore (Public Health – Newport News, VA/Denbigh HS) and Shantrel Oliver (History – Columbia, MD/Chesapeake College) added eight and seven points, respectively, off the bench for UDC.

Molloy featured four double-figure scorers, led by sharp-shooting guard Kelly Guerriero, who torched the Firebirds with 6-of-10 shooting from behind-the-arc and finished with a game-high 22 points. Forwards Megan Lonergan (14 points, five rebounds), Nicole Arnone (10 points, 10 rebounds) and reserve Ally Leftridge (11 points, two rebounds) each made significant contributions as well.

In what was truly a tale of two halves, the Firebirds out-shot their hosts 44-percent to 38-percent from the field and made 6-of-11 three-point field goals (55-percent) compared to Molloy's 3-of-10 (30-percent) in the first half. Leading 17-16 approaching the 10-minute mark, they used a 19-7 run to take a 36-23 lead with 2:13 left in the opening period. The Lions out-scored UDC 6-2 in the final two minutes though, and closed the gap to 38-29 as both teams headed to the locker rooms for intermission.

But in the second half, UDC shot a paltry 6-of-32 (19-percent) from the field and made on 1-of-10 from long range while Molloy shot 13-of-28 (46-percent) and 3-of-8 (38-percent) from deep. Trailing 55-45 with 10:49 left to play, the Lions came roaring back with a 15-0 run over the next six minutes. The run featured seven points by Arnone and two three-pointers by Guerriero and put Molloy up, 60-55 near the four minute mark.

The Lions would go on to out-score UDC 25-4 over that final 10:49 and win by their largest margin of the afternoon, 70-59. During that span, the Firebirds missed their final 15 FG attempts as a team and only managed four points on 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.

The Firebirds return to the nation's capital for Senior Night on Wednesday, February 26^th as they host ECC foe Dowling at 5 p.m. UDC is 9-0 against ECC opponents at home this year.