The St. Thomas Aquinas College Lady Spartans jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 79-40 victory over Molloy College in an East Coast Conference contest at Aquinas Hall. STAC improved to 17-3 overall on the season, and combined with LIU Post's overtime loss at NYIT, moved back into a first place tie in the conference with a 9-1 mark. Molloy dropped its fourth straight to fall to 8-13, 3-8.

Jenna Erickson's second three pointer in the first three minutes snapped a 5-5 tie, and the senior would add two more as part of a 20-2 Lady Spartans run over a span of 4:05, to open a 25-7 gap. Erickson tallied 14 of her game-high 16 points to go with five assists in that first stanza, which ended with the hosts holding a commanding 29-11 advantage.

STAC's lead extended to 42-14 late in the second, as eight different Lady Spartans had scored by the time the half ended with a 42-18 lead. St. Thomas Aquinas kept its defensive prowess on display in the second half, and four scorers in double-figures led the balanced offense. In addition to Erickson, Alex Bertolino and Missy Sadler contributed 12 each, with Emily Prestion adding 11. Sadler and Preston were equally impressive on the boards, tying for the game high with 11 rebounds apiece as the rebounding battle was a lopsided 41-18. Kathryn Gibson set the high mark for the Lions, posting 11 points on the afternoon.

Saturday's game was the first of four straight at home in a nine-day span for the Lady Spartans, part of a string of seven of their final nine at Aquinas Hall. On Tuesday, STAC plays Queens College for the second time in six days in a 5:30 tip, Friday's action sees Daemen College visit, and Roberts Wesleyan pays a call on Sunday, February 4.