Firebirds Bounce Back to Beat Tampa, 52-46

WASHINGTON, DC – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team bounced back from a lopsided loss vs. Saint Anselm yesterday and defeated Tampa University, 52-46 in the 4^th and final game of the Firebird Classic Sunday afternoon.

The Firebirds evened their record at 3-3 on the season as they play one more non-conference game on Saturday, December 5^th vs. Lincoln (PA) before entering the East Coast Conference schedule. Tampa fell to 3-4 for the year with the loss.

Four of the Firebirds' starting five finished in double-figures scoring, led by senior guard Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore's game-high 19 points on 6-of-13 from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 at the foul line. Senior forward Tatyana Calhoun registered a double-double of 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, and forwards Iman Scott and Jenka Stiasna added 10 points apiece.

Tampa (3-4) was led by the outside shooting of guard Ellen Nurmi (12 points on 4-of-7 FG, 3-of-6 from long range) and the inside play of forward Taylor McVey (12 points, five rebounds, game-high four blocked shots). Guard Juliana Cavallaro also registered nine points and a team-high seven rebounds and two steals.

Neither team shot well from the floor, but UDC's 39-30 rebounding advantage allowed the Firebirds nine more shot opportunities and three more made baskets. UDC had a 10-1 advantage in 2^nd chance points thanks to 11 offensive rebounds, including six by Calhoun. Free throws were also pivotal in today's matchup as the Firebirds cashed in on 13-of-14 at the stripe (93-percent) while the Spartans sunk only 11-of-17 (65-percent).

Tampa led for most of the first quarter with McVey having her way inside for five early points; however, with the Firebirds trailing 11-10 with 3:25 to play, Stiasna kick-started a 7-1 run to end the quarter. Scott's jumper at the buzzer gave UDC a 17-12 advantage.

UDC's five-point first quarter lead lasted just two minutes as the Spartans started quarter two on a 5-0 surge. Both teams traded baskets for the next couple of minutes, but the Firebirds maintained a 21-20 lead as the clock ticked under three-minutes in the 2^nd quarter. A jumper by Scott at 2:54, and consecutive jump shots by Baldwin-Kollore at 2:05 and the 57-second mark accounted for the final six points of the half as UDC took a 27-20 advantage into halftime.

The 3^rd quarter saw the Firebirds outscore Tampa 4-2 in the first two minutes and take their largest lead of the day, 31-22 on a Scott jumpshot. The Spartans cut the deficit to six, 31-25 with an Elena de Alredo layup and one free-throw by McVey, but Baldwin-Kollore buried a three-pointer to extend the lead back to nine at the 4:22 mark. Back came the Spartans on a 5-0 run to slice the lead to four, 34-30, but following a series of turnovers by both teams, Calhoun got to the foul line where she made a pair to push the UDC lead back to six, 36-30. Nurmi, however, would convert a three-point play to end the 3^rd quarter and slice the lead in half, 36-33.

The Spartans opened the final quarter on a 5-2 run, culminating in a three pointer by Nurmi to knot the score at 38 just past the seven minute mark. Tampa never led in the 2^nd half, but forced three ties, including a 44-all draw on another Nurmi three-pointer at the 3:59 mark. But Baldwin-Kollore's jumper at 2:02 put UDC ahead for good. The Firebirds made 6-of-6 at the line, the final four by Baldwin-Kollore, and went on to win by six.