Firebirds Surge Past Queens for 6th Straight Win

WASHINGTON, DC – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team earned its 6^th straight win with a 70-59 East Coast Conference victory over Queens on Saturday afternoon at UDC Sports Complex.

In a battle of last year's regular season conference champion hosting the conference tournament champion, the two teams were dead even during three of the four quarters. In the 3^rd quarter, however, the Firebirds separated themselves by holding the Knights to just two field goals as they outscored Queens, 15-4.

Senior guard Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore carried the Firebirds offensively with a game-high 27 points on 8-of-14 FG shooting and 9-of-10 from the foul line. She also added five rebounds and a game-high four assists.

Senior forward Tiara Goode pitched in with 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists, and fellow senior forward Tatyana Calhoun added nine points with a game-high 11 rebounds.

Queens (5-3, 2-1 ECC) was led by guard Kristen Korzevinski, who registered team-highs of 19 points, three steals and three assists. Forward Elisabeth Gully added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds as well.

The Firebirds (8-3, 4-0 ECC) out-shot the Knights 43-percent to 36-percent from the field, 36-percnt to 33-percent from long range, and 77-percent to 72-percent at the free-throw line. UDC also had a 42-30 rebounding advantage and outscored Queens, 30-20 in the paint.

Baldwin-Kollore scored 11 of UDC's first 16 points and steered the Firebirds to an early 16-9 advantage about halfway through the first quarter. Queens responded, though, with an 10-0 charge, culminating in a Korzevinksi jump shot to put the Knights ahead 19-16 with 38 seconds remaining. Tiara Goode's 2^nd three-pointer of the quarter forced a 19-all tie with 11 seconds, and that's how it would stand at the end of the opening period.

In the 2^nd quarter it was Queens that got off to a hot start as Korzevinski put the finishing touches on a 9-2 run with a jumpshot at 5:53 to put the Knights their largest lead of the day, 28-21. The Firebirds answered back by outscoring Queens 11-4 the rest of the period, as Calhoun's 1-of-2 trip at the free-throw line in the final seconds of the half forced the game's 6^th tie at 32-all.

Gully opened the scoring in the 3^rd quarter with a jump shot at 8:28, but the Firebirds rattled off the game's next 12 points, beginning with an Arielle Ward three-pointer at 8:08 and ending with a Goode jumper at 1:54. After seven scoreless minutes, Amber Harrison stopped the bleeding for Queens with a layup, but Baldwin-Kollored buried a three-pointer in the waning seconds to put UDC on top, 47-36. During that seven-minute scoreless stretch for Queens, the Firebirds defense held the Knights to 0-for-6 FG shooting and forced three turnovers.

Still an 11-point Firebirds lead nearly three-minutes into the final quarter, Korzevinski scored four straight points to pull the Knights within seven, 51-44. But two pairs of Baldwin-Kollore free-throws began and capped a 9-0 flurry to give UDC its largest lead of the day, 60-44, with only 4:24 remaining. The Firebirds went on to win comfortably by an 11-point margin.

This concludes the 2015 calendar year for UDC as the Firebirds resume play on Sunday, January 3^rd with a non-league contest vs. USciences at home.