Hot Start Helps Firebirds Secure Season Sweep of LIU Post

BROOKVILLE, NY – An 18-0 run in the first half lifted the visiting Firebirds to a 26-6 lead nearly halfway through the opening period, and UDC cruised from there to complete the season sweep of East Coast Conference rival, LIU Post with an 82-73 victory Thursday night at the Pratt Center.

Tonight's win marked the Firebirds' first regular season road victory vs. the Pioneers, as the only other UDC win at the Pratt Center came in last year's ECC Championship final. The Firebirds also won their fifth straight game and improved to 16-3 overall and 9-2 in league play. LIU Post lost its second straight game to fall to 11-8 overall and 7-4 in the ECC.

UDC, which has won nine of its last 10 games and is ranked No. 6 in this week's D2SIDA East Region poll, is T-2^nd with NYIT for 2^nd place in the league standings. The Firebirds, who fell to the Bears, 73-65 at home on December 10^th, will look to even the season series and take sole possession of 2^nd place in the ECC standings with a win vs. NYIT on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is at 1 p.m.

Junior guard Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore (Criminal Justice – Newport News, VA/Denbigh HS) led four Firebirds in double-figures with a team-best 17 points and added four assists, three steals and two blocks. Her supporting cast included: Denikka Brent (15 points, four rebounds, two blocks), Shantrel Oliver (14 points, five assists, 5-for-5 free-throw shooting) and Iman Scott (11 points, three assists).

In the first half, UDC out-shot their hosts 55-percent to 40-percent from the field and shot a sizzling 63-percent from three-point range while holding LIU Post to 29-percent from behind-the-arc. The Firebirds led 45-29 at halftime and held on to win comfortably despite being out-scored, 44-37 in the second half.

LIU Post was led by center Nyasia Davis' 20 points and 11 rebounds (both game-highs) and guard Chelsea Williams' 18 points and nine rebounds. Williams, however, was forced into 11 turnovers by a suffocating Firebird defense.

UDC forced 20 LIU Post turnovers in all and cashed them in for 31 points. The Firebirds' team depth also afforded them a 27-19 advantage in bench points. The Pioneers did, however, out-rebound UDC 44-30, which helped lead to a 44-32 advantage in points in the paint and a 15-7 advantage in second-chance points.

The Pioneers did put a scare into the Firebirds with a 9-0 run inside of two-minutes to play in regulation which cut a 15-point UDC lead to six with 50 seconds remaining, but made 5-of-6 from the free-throw line (including 4-of-4 by Oliver) down the stretch to seal the victory.