Junior guard Kaiya Coleman led the Firebirds with 11 points and five rebounds.
Junior guard Kaiya Coleman led the Firebirds with 11 points and five rebounds.
Posted: Dec 30, 2016

UDC Women’s Basketball Dealt 56-36 Loss by the Devils

Game Leaders
Dist. Columbia
Pts: Kaiya Coleman - 11
Reb: Dayjah Anderson - 7
Ast: 2 Players (#03, #10) - 2
USciences
Pts: Sarah Abbonizio - 16
Reb: Sarah Abbonizio - 5
Ast: 5 Players (#02, #10, #20, #25, #33) - 2
Team Stats
Full stats

PHILADELPHIA – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team was defeated, 56-36 by the University of the Sciences in East Region non-conference action Friday afternoon at Bobby Morgan Arena.

Junior guard Kaiya Coleman led the Firebirds with 11 points and five rebounds, and freshman guard Kaylah Cooper added 10 points and five rebounds. Freshman guard Dayjah Anderson hauled in a game-high seven rebounds.

Eleven different Devils players entered the scoring column led by Sarah Abbonizio's game-high 16 points on 6-of-9 FG shooting and 4-of-5 shooting from long range. She also tied for the team and game-high three assists.

The Devils (12-2) out-shot UDC, 41-percent (21-of-51) to 25-percent (12-of-48) from the field and 40-percent (8-of-20) to 22-percent (5-of-23) from three-point range. The hosts also had seven fewer turnovers (16-9) and 13 more assists (19-6).

Abbonizio scored the game's first four points, but five straight points in response by Coleman gave the Firebirds a 5-4 edge they enjoyed until near the four-minute mark of the opening quarter. Abbonizio, who scored the Devils' first seven points of the game, put USciences ahead to stay with a three-pointer at the 4:08 mark.

That three-pointer by Abbonizio kicked off a 16-1 surge by the Devils that spanned the first and second quarters and gave the hosts a commanding, 20-6 lead three minutes into the 2nd quarter. The Firebirds cut the deficit to eight with a 6-0 run, but USciences closed out the final 5:45 of the first half on a 10-3 run and took a 30-15 lead at intermission.

The Devils never allowed UDC back in the game in the 2nd half, holding the Firebirds to just four points in the 3rd quarter and going up 43-19 heading in to the final period. USciences' lead swelled to as many as 26 early in the 4th quarter as the Devils coasted to a 20-point margin of victory for their 6th straight win.

Next up, the Firebirds return to East Coast Conference play with a home tilt on January 4th vs. LIU Post.