The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team dropped a 62-54 East Coast Conference decision at Daemen College. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak and was the first conference defeat of the season for STAC, falling to 16-3, 7-1, while Daemen improved to 9-8, 6-2.
STAC's struggles were evident early, as Katie Thomas bolted from the gate with 13 points in the first six minutes of play, staking Daemen to an 18-9 advantage. The Spartans spent the rest of the evening trying to claw back, only to see the hosts extend their lead. Zaria Thomas hit a three pointer to cap a 7-0 STAC run to close the margin to 18-16, but a late Erin Sinnott layup gave the Wildcats a 23-16 edge after one quarter.
Ruth Adams drilled a three as the Spartans scored the first seven points of the second quarter to tie the game, and an Emily Preston layup put the visitors on top at 27-26 just past the midway point of the quarter. Daemen rebounded to claim a 32-29 advantage at halftime, but poor free throw shooting by St. Thomas Aquinas would set the tone with STAC going just 4-for-10 from the stripe to that point.
Tiara Filbert hit a pair from the field as the Wildcats stormed to their biggest lead at 39-29, but while STAC failed to score for the first five minutes of the third quarter, their defense kept them in the contest as an 11-2 run closed the gap to 41-40. Yet again, the hosts answered the call, holding a 48-43 advantage after three.
St. Thomas Aquinas would draw as close as three points several times in the final frame but the Wildcats had the answer each time, as Titus hit a big trey to open a 58-52 gap with 3:03 left and her team never looked back. Preston led the way with 14 points and 19 caroms for the visitors, while Titus was the standout for Daemen with a game-high 24 points.
The Spartans Western New York trip concludes with a quick turnaround against Roberts Wesleyan on Sunday, January 27, in a 2:00 pm start. They will return to Aquinas Hall to host Mercy College this Wednesday, January 30, as double-header action tips off at 5:30 pm.