Hawks Soar Past Firebirds in Lopsided Loss for UDC Women’s Basketball vs. Saint Anselm

WASHINGTON, DC – In game two of the Firebird Classic on Saturday afternoon, the University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team suffered a lopsided, 77-49 loss to Saint Anselm College.

The Firebirds (2-3) had their 11-game home win streak snapped as they fell at home for the first time since December 10, 2014. They resume tournament action tomorrow at 3 p.m. vs. University of Tampa – victors in game one this afternoon, 63-41 over Chowan University. The Hawks, meanwhile, won their 3^rd straight game to improve to 3-1 overall. They will face Chowan tomorrow at 1 p.m.

District of Columbia scored the first six points of the game before the Hawks ended the opening quarter on a 14-0 run to take a 14-6 advantage at the end of one quarter of play. Ali Glennon opened and closed the scoring for the Hawks with a three-pointer as Saint Anselm stole the game's momentum with an emphatic run.

The Hawks continued their run into the 2^nd quarter as Glennon connected on another three and Kaila Duarte added her 2^nd basket of the game to make it a 19-6 lead. Later a triple by Caitlyn Abela pushed the Saint Anselm lead to 34-14, and the Hawks would take a commanding 39-19 lead into the break.

The Firebirds made a small push to open the second half, cutting the Saint Anselm lead to 43-27 after a three-point play by senior forward Iman Scott. Samnell Vonleh and Glennon answered with baskets, however, and sparked a 13-1 run to put the Hawks back in command, 56-28.

Saint Anselm would build leads in excess of 30 in the final quarter as the Hawks cruised to the 77-49 victory.

Glennon and Abela led the Hawks with 13 points apiece while Vonleh and Aliyah Smith each chipped in with 10 points.Kaila Duarte recorded a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Candace Andrews packed the stat sheet with six points, three rebounds, game-high eight assists, two steals and a block.

Scott was the only thing working for the Firebirds offensively as she finished with a game-high 19 points on 9-of-14 FG shooting and added three steals. Senior forward Tatyana Calhoun added six points and a team-best seven rebounds.

The Hawks shot 48-percent (25-of-52) from the floor while holding the Firebirds to a season-low 28-percent shooting output. They also won both the rebounding (39-34) and turnover battles (13-14).