Firebirds Push Past Felician, 59-56 for Burroughs’ First Win

SPARKILL, NY – Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore scored the game's final four points in the final 20 seconds of regulation to lift the University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team to a 59-56 victory Saturday afternoon vs. Felician College at the Conference Challenge Tournament hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas.

This marked the first win of the season and the DeWayne Burroughs coaching era as the Firebirds evened their record at 1-1 after a season-opening loss yesterday vs. Merrimack College. The Golden Falcons fell to 0-2 with the loss.

Baldwin-Kollore led all scorers with 16 points on 5-of-14 FG shooting (4-of-4 FT), and her jump-shot with 20 seconds remaining in regulation turned a 56-55 deficit into a 57-56 UDC lead. She then sunk a pair of free-throws with only four seconds remaining to give the Firebirds a three-point advantage, which they'd cling to as Felician missed two consecutive desperation shots before the buzzer.

UDC's dominance on the boards was pivotal in the win as they overcame a 31-percent shooting day with 29 offensive rebounds which led to 15 more shot opportunities and 27 second chance points. Junior transfer center Jaslynn Rollins had an impact offensively despite a 1-for-7 FG shooting day as all seven of her rebounds came on the offensive glass and she handed out four assists. Meanwhile senior forwards Tiara Goode (9 points, 10 rebounds) and Tatyana Calhoun (12 points, 9 rebounds) were both close to double-double statistical performances.

Felician had two double-figure scorers in guard Shayla Osmond with 15 points, three rebounds and three steals, and forward Eliana Scanlon with 11 points and three rebounds.

Points were at a premium in the first quarter, as the Firebirds and Falcons managed just nine points each in the opening frame. The Firebirds raced out to a 4-0 start, but Felician countered with a 6-0 run to pull in front, 6-4. Three ties ensued, including in the final tally of the quarter as Ryonna Marshall's 1-of-2 trip at the line with two seconds remaining forced a 9-all finish.

The lead changed hands five times as both teams' offenses picked up steam in the 2^nd quarter. UDC's Arielle Ward (7 points, 6 rebounds) made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, but gathered the offensive rebound on her missed 2^nd shot and converted a layup for an unconventional three-point play to put the Firebirds ahead 19-17 with just under two minutes remaining. UDC would ultimately take a 23-20 lead at intermission.

The Falcons opened the 3^rd quarter on a 7-0 run to claim a 27-23 lead with less than a minute gone by in the closing half, but Baldwin-Kollore stopped the bleeding with a three-point dagger just after the nine-minute mark to pull UDC back within one, 27-26. Still trailing 29-28 with under seven minutes in the quarter, Goode started and ended a 13-3 run that spanned the rest of the quarter. She scored seven points during that stretch, including a three-pointer in the waning seconds to give the Firebirds their largest lead of the day, 44-32.

Seemingly in the driver's seat entering the fourth quarter, things began to unravel as the Firebirds opened the final stanza shooting 1-for-8 from the field and turning the ball over five times. Meanwhile, Felician went on a three-point shooting barrage as Alex Salaycik, Eliana Scanlon, Shyla Osmond and Taylor Trotman each connected from behind-the-arc  during what amounted to a 20-4 run which gave Felician its largest lead of the day, 52-48 with 3:42 left to play in regulation. Once again, Baldwin-Kollore switched the momentum as she buried a clutch three-pointer at the 3:21 mark and later hit a jump-shot to cap a 7-0 Firebirds response which gave UDC a 55-52 lead with just under three minutes remaining.

With the Firebirds still leading 55-54 as the clock ticked under a minute, Scanlon's jump shot put Felician in front, 56-55 with 29 seconds left. This set the stage for another clutch response by the veteran senior guard, Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore, who knocked down a jumper nine seconds later to put UDC ahead to stay.

Next up, UDC will host its season home-opener and its Homecoming Game on Thursday, November 19^th as the Firebirds welcome Goldey-Beacom College to the UDC Sports Complex at 6 p.m.