UDC Women’s Basketball Pulls Away Late for 9th Straight Win, 74-59 at Dowling

OAKDALE, NY – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team won its 9^th straight game Saturday afternoon as the visiting Firebirds cruised to a 74-59 victory over Dowling College in East Coast Conference play at Dowling Gymnasium.

UDC improved to 11-3 overall, and, at 6-0, remain locked in a tie for 1^st place in the league standings with the only other unbeaten team in ECC play, NYIT. The Firebirds have now won 20 consecutive regular season conference games dating back to last season's string of 14 straight wins to end the 2014-15 regular season.

Senior guard Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore led the way with a great effort on both sides of the ball – scoring a game-high 25 points and collecting a game-high six steals.  She shot 9-of-15 from the field, including 5-of-6 from long range, and made 2-of-2 at the foul line. After today, Baldwin-Kollore currently ranks 3^rd in the league in scoring at 18.6 points per-game, 2^nd in steals with 2.7 per-game, and 2^nd in free-throw shooting percentage at 87.4.

Other key performers for the Firebirds were senior forward Tiara Goode with 15 points and seven rebounds, and senior forward Tatyana Calhoun with 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Eight of Calhoun's 11 rebounds were on the offensive glass, as UDC, collectively, had 23 offensive rebounds and registered 24 second-chance points.

Both teams shot 41-percent from the field, but the Firebirds' 44-35 rebounding advantage, including a 23-10 edge on the offensive glass, led to 20 more FG attempts for UDC and eight more made field goals. UDC also forced 23 Dowling turnovers while only turning it over 14 times, and the Firebirds more than doubled-up the Golden Lions, 24-10 in points off of turnovers. Additionally, UDC doubled-up Dowling, 36-18 in points in the paint, and enjoyed a 17-4 advantage in bench points.

Dowling (2-9, 2-3 ECC), which trailed by only three heading into the 4^th quarter, shot slightly better from long range (33-percent to 31-percent) and considerably better at the free-throw line (71-percent to 44-percent). The Golden Lions were led by the ECC's 2^nd leading scorer and 4^th best rebounder, Krstina Surlan, with 21 points and a game-high 12 boards. Surlan's performance, however, was marred by six turnovers.

Calhoun opened the scoring with a jumper 17 seconds into the action, but that would prove the Firebirds' only lead of the 1^st quarter. UDC trailed by as many as five (18-13) after a Surlan three-pointer at the 1:33 mark, but came back to force already the 5^th tie of the game with a Baldwin-Kollore jumper and a Goode three-pointer as the opening quarter came to a close at an 18-all gridlock.

For the first six minutes of the 2^nd quarter, no team led by  more than four points, as the two teams combined for four lead changes and one more tie. Surlan scored five consecutive points to turn a two-point deficit into a three-point lead for the Golden Lions at the 5:36 mark, but the Firebirds closed the 1^st half on a 16-6 surge, beginning with a Myla Somerville jumper at 5:09 and featuring nine points by Baldwin-Kollore. UDC led 38-31 at intermission.

The Firebirds came out ice cold in the 3^rd quarter, as they ultimately shot a paltry 2-for-13 from the field and were 2-for-6 at the free-throw line. A pair of free-throws by Goode early in the quarter, and back-to-back three-pointers by Baldwin-Kollore later, were all the points UDC could muster in the 3^rd quarter as Surlan scored six of Dowling's 12 points in the quarter to help the Golden Lions pull within three, 46-43.

UDC started the 4^th quarter strong, however, using a 7-0 run that included five consecutive points by Goode to extend its lead to 10, 53-43. Still up 57-48 at the 5:37 mark, the Firebirds solidified their lead with an 8-0 run that included back-to-back three-pointers by Baldwin-Kollore and Goode.

The Firebirds pushed their lead to as many as 19, and they would eventually settle for a 15-point margin of victory.

UDC will seek its 10^th straight win and 23^rd conference regular season victory on Thursday, January 14^th at St. Thomas Aquinas College at 6 p.m.