The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team opens the 2022 post-season with an East Coast Conference First Round battle against #6 seeded University of the District of Columbia at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday at Aquinas Hall.
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For More Information, visit ECC Women's Basketball Championship Central
The Teams - St. Thomas Aquinas College - The #3 seeded Spartans look to continue their run of tremendous success over the last two months of the regular season. STAC comes in with a 13-14 overall record, 12-6 in ECC play. The Spartans continue to utilize a balanced attack, with Alexa Huertas (12.7 ppg), Sarah Ericson (10.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg & 3.5 apg), Victoria Kurisko (8.6 ppg & 4.5rpg), Erin Leary (7.7 ppg & 5.4 rpg) and Chanel Brodeur-Muir (7.0 ppg & 5.5 rpg) all leading the way.
The Teams - University of the District of Columbia - The Firebirds captured the #6 seed and enter Wednesday's play at 13-14 overall and with a 9-9 ECC record. Lativa Jackson and Destiny Ryles have been the offensive threats for UDC, with 16.5 ppg and 13.4 ppg, respectively. Ronnasia Blatch-Huggins (8.3 rpg), Tori Williams (6.9 rpg) and the aforementioned Ryles (6.0 rpg) will look to clean-up on the boards.
Season Series (STAC wins, 2-0):
Jan 12, 2022, STAC 52, @UDC 45 - The first battle between the two teams saw Victoria Kurisko (15 points & 12 rebounds), Alexa Huertas (11), and Sarah Ericson (10) lead the way for St. Thomas Aquinas. In a defensive stalemate, the Spartans and Firebirds were knotted at 22-22 at halftime. However, STAC was able to outscore UDC 30-23 in the second half to walk away with the victory. Tori Williams was was the leading scorer for the hosts, netting a 15 points.
Feb 5, 2020 - @STAC 74, UDC 61 - After a nip-and-tuck first half, where the Spartans only lead by three, 38-35, STAC outscored UDC by a 10-point margin (36-26) in the final two quarters to pick up the 13-point victory. Five Spartans recorded double digit points with Victoria Kurisko and Chanel Brodeur-Muir pouring in 14 each, Alexa Huertas scoring 13, Erin Leary adding 12 and Karolina Jaruseviciute picking up 10. Destiny Ryles (23 points) and Latavia Jackson (20 points) paced the Firebirds on the road.
What's Next? - The winner of this game will advance to the ECC Tournament Semifinal to take on #2 seed Molloy College on Saturday, March 5, at 3:00 p.m. The semifinal and final rounds of the women's tourney shift to #1 seed Daemen College (Lumsden Gym) in Amherst, N.Y.
The winner of the ECC Tournament Championship receives an automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament.
2022 EAST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
First Round – Wednesday, March 2 at campus sites
7:00 p.m. - No. 5 Mercy at No. 4 Roberts Wesleyan
7:00 p.m. - No. 6 District of Columbia at No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas
Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 at Daemen
12:00 p.m. - MER/RWC vs. No. 1 Daemen
3:00 p.m. - UDC/STAC vs. No. 2 Molloy
Final – Sunday, March 6 at Daemen
12:00 p.m. - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner
BROADCAST/LIVE STATISTICS INFORMATION
For those who cannot be in attendance, Wednesday's Game will be broadcast LIVE on both the Spartan Sports Network and the ECC Network. The team of Steve Balsan and Thomas Scavetta will bring you all of the action from Aquinas Hall.
LIVE statistics will also be available for fans to follow all of the game action, if you cannot make it to Aquinas Hall or watch the web stream.
TICKET PRICING & COVID PROTOCOLS
All Games
$8 - General Admission
$4 - Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children Ages 5-12
Children under 5 free for all games
* Must purchase a ticket to attend first round game on March 2 *
* Tickets must be purchased at the link above. Due to the seating capacity of the tournament venues, it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance. The ECC and Host Institutions will not guarantee that tickets will be available at the door. *
* Current COVID-19 protocols require all fans inside of Aquinas Hall to wear masks (covering both the nose and mouth) at all times. Policies MUST be followed to attend the ECC Tournament. *