Firebirds Outdueled by the Purple Knights, 76-56 in ECC Battle

BRIDGEPORT, CT – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team was defeated, 76-56 by the host University of Bridgeport in East Coast Conference action Wednesday night at Hubbell Gym.

Freshman guard Bailee White led three Firebirds in double-figures with a game and season-high 21 points along with a team-best eight rebounds. Her backcourt mate and sister Bianca White added 12 points, as did junior guard Kaiya Coleman, who also hauled in seven rebounds.

UDC's senior center Jaslynn Rollins also tied for the team-high with eight rebounds, but with only six available student-athletes on the roster tonight – and five of them guards – the Firebirds were outrebounded 65-39.

Bridgeport (10-8, 4-4 ECC) took full advantage of the 26-rebound disparity, out-scoring UDC, 50-16 in the paint and 26-6 in 2^nd chance points. Also, with six available substitutes, the Purple Knights had 10 different players enter the scoring column, and they out-scored UDC, 37-1 in bench points.

Three different UB players finished with point-rebound double-doubles, including reserve Aaliyah Mercer with a game-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Samnell Vonleh added 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and reserve Morgen Caution pitched in 10 points and 10 rebounds. Camera Miley was the 4^th Purple Knight in double-figures scoring with 11 points to go with five rebounds and game-highs of four assists and three steals.

The hosts scored the game's first four points, but the visitors took a brief 6-4 lead following back-to-back three-pointers by Bailee and Bianca White. After Bianca White's three-pointer at the 7:12 mark in the first quarter, however, Bridgeport took the game over with a 13-0 surge over the next four minutes and never looked back. The Purple Knights led 25-13 at the end of the first period.

UDC missed its first six shots and had one turnover in the first four-and-a-half minutes of the 2^nd quarter, allowing UB to open on a 9-0 run and extend its lead to 34-13. Bailee White's three-pointer at 5:29 temporarily stopped the bleeding, but five straight points by the Purple Knights gave the hosts their largest lead of the night, 39-16, with 3:49 left before the half. The Firebirds fought back to cut the deficit to 15, 41-26 as they closed out the quarter on a 10-2 run.

Bridgeport opened the 3^rd quarter on a 7-2 run and extended its lead back up to 20, 48-28 with 7:20 remaining. Late in the 4^th quarter, UDC used a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 14 with 1:47 left, but it was too little too late as Bridgeport closed out the game on a 9-3 burst to win by a 20-point margin.

UDC (2-17, 1-8 ECC) will visit ECC foe Daemen on Saturday, January 28^th. Tip-off is at 1 p.m.