Firebirds Soar Past Wilmington, 81-59

WILMINGTON, DE – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team earned a decisive, 81-59 victory vs. Wilmington University Saturday afternoon in the Tip Off Classic, hosted by WU.

The Firebirds, who bounced back nicely after a lopsided loss to Holy Family University in their season opener last night, improved to 1-1 on the season with today's 22-point victory. This marked the largest margin of victory for UDC since February 10^th, 2016, when the Firebirds beat Dowling College, 86-50.

The Wildcats, members of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, fell to 0-2 on the season.

Senior guard Natasha Roy led the way for UDC with a terrific all-around performance. She packed the stat sheet with a team-high 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Meanwhile, guards Tyra Coombs and Etalyia Vogt added 11 points apiece, with Coombs also pulling in a team-best eight rebounds, and center Patricia Albert pitched in nine points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

Wilmington also featured three scorers in double-figures, including a game-high 23-point scoring effort by Macy Robinson. Reserve Jaelyn Durrett scored 14 points in 28 minutes off the bench, and Nyree Grant added 10 points.

UDC out-shot Wilmington 41-percent to 33-percent from the field, and the Firebirds nearly doubled-up the Wildcats in field goals made (30-17). District of Columbia had a 48-39 rebounding edge, and converted 25 offensive rebounds into 28 2^nd chance points. The Firebirds were also opportunistic off of turnovers, turning 27 Wilmington miscues into 25 points off turnovers.

The Firebirds, who trailed by as many as six points part-way through the 2^nd quarter, also had the deeper bench today, more than doubling-up the Wildcats, 30-14 in bench points.

The first quarter featured five ties and three lead changes as these two East Region foes were never separated by more than four points the entire opening period. Wilmington claimed an 18-16 advantage at the end of the quarter courtesy of a 6-0 run over the last two minutes of play.

Albert opened the scoring in the 2^nd quarter with a layup nearly a minute-and-a-half in, but Wilmington countered with back-to-back three-pointers to take a 24-18 lead at the 7:48 mark. UDC answered back by out-scoring WU 10-3 over the next 3:45, and the Firebirds re-claimed the lead, 28-27 on a layup by Mia-Alexis Lloyd. The lead switched hands twice more, but UDC ended the period on an 8-4 run and took a 37-32 lead into halftime.

The Firebirds took control of the game in the 3^rd quarter, out-scoring the Wildcats, 21-6 over a span of nearly seven minutes, catapulting them in front, 58-38 approaching the 3-minute mark in the period. They would end the quarter in front, comfortably, 63-45.

UDC never let its lead dip below 18 points in the final period, even extending its lead to as many as 23 on a made free throw by Mia Boyd at the 2:48 mark. The Firebirds went on to win by a final score of 81-59.

Next up, UDC will visit Lincoln (PA) on Wednesday, November 14^th at 6 p.m.