Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team saw four starters score in double-figures on Sunday afternoon, as the Spartans earned a hard-fought 84-64 victory over D'Youville College at Aquinas Hall Gym.

STAC improves to 6-10, 5-2 ECC on the season, while the visiting Saints drop to 7-6 and 2-5 in conference play.

Sarah Ericson led the way for the Spartans, posting 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Victoria Kurisko (19 points), Erin Leary (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Alexa Huertas (13 points) also scored in double-figures

STAC shot 48.5 percent from the field (33-68) and 40.9 percent from behind the arc (9-22) in the conference tilt, while D'Youville shot 34.8 percent (23-66) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight different players recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Victoria Kurisko led the Spartans with nine assists on the day.
• Kurisko made 9 of her 15 field goal attempts, while Erin Leary went 7-for-14 from the floor.
• STAC out rebounded D'Youville 48-32 through 40 minutes of action, with both Erin Leary (11) and Sarah Ericson (10) posting double-digit boards.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up seven steals in the contest, with the Saints turning the ball over on 13 different occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in three team statistical categories over D'Youville: Points off of Turnovers (18-11), Second Chance Points (27-11) and Points in the Paint (32-20).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• STAC raced out to an early 10-4 advantage, before D'Youville climbed back into the contest and cut their deficit to just two points (20-18), before the Spartans finished the opening quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 28-20 lead at the end of one.
• The visiting Saints would go on an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game at 28 all to start the second quarter. However STAC would make another big run (10-0) from the mid-way point of the stanza to final minute and a half of the frame, going back up 38-28, and ultimately taking a 41-32 advantage into the halftime locker room.
• Victoria Kurisko paced the Spartan offense with 10 points in 20 minutes of action, while Sara Pfeiffer led all scorers with 13 points for D'Youville.
• D'Youville and St. Thomas Aquinas came back from the break, matching each other shot for shot to open the third quarter, with the Saints getting it to just a two-point game (46-44) at the 6:33 mark. The Spartans would not let the visitors get any closer, and expanded their lead to 10 with just over three minutes left in the period. STAC battled to hold a 61-52 advantage through 30 minutes of play.
• In the fourth quarter, St. Thomas Aquinas held multiple double-digit leads, with its largest margin being a 20-point advantage late in the contest (79-59 at 1:26) and (84-64 at 0:17).

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas returns to action, traveling to the University of Bridgeport, on Wednesday evening, January 26. Opening tip between the Spartans and Purple Knights is scheduled for 5:00pm at Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium in Connecticut.