UDC Women’s Basketball Defeats Nyack 64-59; King Scores Season High 18 Points

New York, N.Y.- Junior transfer guard Alexus King led the Firebirds to a 64-59 victory over the Nyack Warriors on Saturday afternoon at the Bowman Gym. UDC improved to 3-5 on the season while Nyack fell to 2-3.

King registered a season high 18 points off the bench going 5-6 at the free throw line, 3-5 from the three-point line and 5-11 from the field. Teammate Maya Thomas contributed 16 points (her 6^thdouble figure game of the season) and six rebounds.

First quarter: The Firebirds outscored the Warriors 21-18, with King going 2-3 from the three-point line and Thomas going a perfect 2-2. The Warriors took the early lead and led the Firebirds for majority of the first quarter until a three-point jump shot by King at the 1:31 mark evened out the score 17-17. The Warriors were able to draw a foul which sent Jocelin Wright to the free throw line where she went 1-2 to reclaim the lead. With the Firebirds in possession and only 22 seconds left on the clock, Latavia Jackson went up for an offensive rebound where she pulled a foul and went a perfect 2-2 at the free throw line. Jackson later hit a jump shot at the buzzer to give the Firebirds a three-point lead over the Warriors going into the second quarter.

Second quarter: Junior Forward Mia Boyd led the floor with five points going a perfect 2-2 from the field and 1-2 at the free throw line. Nyack was able to hold UDC to a 15% shooting from the field outscoring them 14-10 to end the half with a one-point lead 32-31. The Firebirds led the way for the first couple of minutes but fell behind after a three pointer by Kyla Given and a jump shot by Jasmine Cruse put the Warriors back on top.

Third quarter: UDC came out blazing, outshooting Nyack 20-6. Jackson and King each put up five points with Boyd right behind them with 4. After a couple of made free throws by Boyd and a layup by Hunter Rowson, the Firebirds gained a five-point lead on the Warriors which led to a 7-0 run. With 2:15 to go, the Warriors were able to end their shooting drought with a made free throw by Yamalis Villegas. The Firebirds responded with two made free throws by King and a layup by Desiree Gaeckler to end out the quarter with their biggest lead of the game 51-38. 

Fourth quarter: The Warriors improved to a field shooting percentage of 35 with Given leading the way with eight points. Thomas led the floor with 10 points going a perfect 2-2 at the free throw line, 2-3 at the three-point line and 3-5 from the field. The Warriors made the first move with Jenissa Encarnacion landing a jumper at the three-point line. UDC's first points of the quarter came at 7:57 with a three-point jumper by Thomas to bring the score 54-44. The warriors fought their way back, but it wasn't enough as the Firebirds came out on top with a 64-59 victory.

Other standout performances came from the two freshmen starting guards Halia Ellis and Jackson. Ellis led the team with a season high nine assists and Jackson had nine points and led the team with nine rebounds, barely missing a double-double. 

Next up UDC (3-5) will host Indiana on Tuesday December 3^rdat 6:00pm in the UDC gym.