UDC Women’s Basketball Downed by Daemen, 78-58

AMHERST, NY – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team was defeated, 78-58 by Daemen College in East Coast Conference action Wednesday morning at Lumsden Gymnasium.

The Firebirds (2-13, 0-6 ECC) had a lead (17-15) at the end of the first quarter for just the 3^rd time this season, but they were outscored in each of the final three quarters en-route to the lopsided loss.

Daemen (5-10, 2-3 ECC) fell behind 15-6 in the first quarter, but the Wildcats used a 28-5 blitz over an 8:40 period that spanned the first and second quarters. Daemen closed out the final 1:36 of the first quarter on a 9-2 burst, and continued that momentum into the 2^nd quarter where it out-scored UDC 19-3 over the first seven minutes to take a 34-20 lead. From that point on, the Wildcats never led by fewer than eight points, and they coasted to a 20-point victory.

UDC junior transfer guard Mia-Alexis Lloyd led all scorers with 19 points as she shot 6-of-15 from the field and 6-of-6 at the foul line. Lloyd came off the bench and scored 15 of her 19 in the second half, and she also collected six rebounds. Freshman guard Daeja Quick added 12 points off the bench as well, and reserve freshman forward Danielle Harrington contributed seven points and a game-high seven rebounds.

Daemen featured three scorers in double-figures, including guard Tiara Filbert's team-best 15 points to go with a game-high seven assists. Her backcourt mate Sarah Saba was a force for the Wildcats as well, as she registered 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a game-high three blocked shots. Also, Sydney Jones came off the bench to score 14 points.

UDC, with five different players hauling in at least six rebounds today, won the rebounding battle, 40-31, and its 12 turnovers was the 2^nd fewest this season. Still, the Wildcats enjoyed a 48-percent (30-of-62) to 37-percent (23-of-62) shooting advantage from the field and an even wider disparity from three-point range, as the Wildcats made 14-of-29 (48-percent) from behind-the-arc and UDC just 3-of-18 (17-percent).

Despite the unusually early tip-off time of 10 a.m. for a weekday game, the Firebirds got off to one of their better starts of the season. Junior transfer guard Natasha Roy had five of her six points in the opening period, including UDC's first points of the game on a three-pointer about 45 seconds into the action. The Firebirds led for all but 1:02 of the 10-minute quarter, and they pushed their lead to as many as nine points (15-6) courtesy of an 8-0 run that started mid-way through the period. Beginning with a Sydney Jones three-pointer at the 1:16 mark, however, Daemen cut the deficit to two, 17-15 courtesy of a 9-2 burst to end the quarter.

The Wildcats then took the game over with a 19-3 blitz over the first seven minutes of the 2^nd quarter, and they'd go on to out-score UDC 22-10 in the period and take a 37-27 lead into halftime.

In the 3^rd quarter, freshman forward Desiree Gaeckler and Roy each converted buckets in the opening two minutes of play as UDC out-scored the hosts 4-2 and cut the deficit to eight, 39-31 at the 8:50 mark. Daemen countered though, as a Filbert three-pointer ignited a 15-3 surge by the Wildcats which catapulted them to a 20-point lead, 54-34. The Firebirds fought back to score 12 of the final 17 points in the final four-and-a-half minutes of the quarter, and they trailed 59-46 heading into the final period.

Mia-Alexis Lloyd scored five of the first seven points in the 4^th quarter to bring UDC within 10, 61-51, with 8:42 remaining in regulation. A three-pointer by Daemen's Carina Pringle at the 8:14 mark kick-started a 13-3 march by the Wildcats which extended their lead back up to 20, 74-54, with only 3:12 left to play. Daemen went on to win comfortably by that same margin, 78-58.

Next up, UDC will host ECC foe and No. 23 nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday, January 13^th at 1 p.m.