Firebirds Fall on the Road at No. 9 Virginia Union

RICHMOND, VA – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team, playing its 2^nd nationally-ranked team in three days, was defeated by host and No. 9 Virginia Union on Monday night at Barco-Stevens Hall.

The Firebirds (2-15) trailed the Panthers (16-1) by only six at the end of the first quarter, but the hosts out-scored UDC, 29-7 in the 2^nd quarter and never looked back. Virginia Union, who came into this game out-scoring their opponents by an average of 20.1 points per-game, have now won 16 straight games.

Freshman guard Daeja Quick led the Firebirds with 13 points, and junior transfer guard Natasha Roy added 10 points in 22 minutes played off the bench. Junior transfer guard Mia-Alexis Lloyd pitched in six points and team-highs of six rebounds and five assists as well.

The Panthers out-shot UDC 45-percent (30-of-67) to 30-percent (18-of-60) from the field, and 79-percent (19-of-24) to 61-percent (11-of-18) from the foul line, they won the rebounding battle, 47-37, they had 10 more assists (22-12) and 10 fewer turnovers (30-20), and more than doubled-up the Firebirds in points off turnovers (33-16), and points in the paint (46-16). The hosts also dominated in bench points (37-24) and fast break points (26-14).

VUU was led by four double-figure scorers, including a game-high 22 points by Shareka McNeil on 8-of-14 FG shooting and 6-of-7 FT shooting. Alexis Johnson gave the Panthers a spark off the bench with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds, and point guard Rejoice Spivey ran the show with a game-high 13 assists.

UDC fell behind 6-0 in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the game, but Quick got the Firebirds on the board with a three-pointer right around the seven-minute mark. Later, Roy and sophomore transfer guard Natalija Dubrovina each knocked down three-pointers as well, and UDC held its own to the end of the first period, trailing only by six, 22-16.

In the 2^nd quarter, however, Virginia Union opened on a 7-0 burst, and closed out the final six minutes on a 22-3 blitz, as the Panthers out-scored UDC 29-7 and took a commanding, 51-23 lead into halftime.

Sophomore guard Tyra Coombs opened the 3^rd quarter scoring with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 25, but that was the closest UDC would get the rest of the way. The VUU lead ballooned at 35 before UDC scored the final five points of the game to make the final score, 84-54.

Next up, UDC returns to East Coast Conference play in search of its first league victory Wednesday night at LIU Post. Tip-off from Brookville, NY is at 5 p.m.