Sparkill, N.Y. - St. Thomas Aquinas College closed out its annual Women's Basketball Challenge Tournament on Saturday evening with a 79-70 victory over crosstown rivals Dominican University at Aquinas Hall

STAC moves to 1-1 on the season, while Dominican falls to 0-2.

Erin Leary led the way for the Spartans, posting 21 points and 12 rebounds, while teammate Sarah Ericson (12pts) also recorded double-digit point totals.

STAC shot 35.9 percent from the field (23-64), while Dominican shot 31.9 percent (23-72) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nine Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Trinity Cheatom led the maroon and gold with four assists on the evening.
• Erin Leary made 7 of her 15 field goal attempts, with 5 of 9 going in from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Sarah Ericson went 5-for-14 from the floor and 10 of 11 from the charity stripe.
• STAC out-rebounded Dominican by a 55-39 margin, with Leary grabbing a game-high 12 boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up three steals, with the Chargers turning the ball over on seven separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in two team statistical categories over Dominican: Second Chance Points (16-8) and Bench Points (24-15).
• The game featured seven ties and seven lead changes.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A back and forth first quarter allowed the visiting Chargers to build a 15-12 advantage through the first 10 minutes of action. Erin Leary and Sarah Ericson led the charge in the opening frame with Joline Raposo and one of the newest Spartans, Bailey Chapman, picking up her first collegiate points.
• Kaitlyn Watrobski's trey to open the second quarter knotted the score at 15-15, but Dominican battled back to take two seperate five-point leads.
• Joline Raposo, Sarah Ericson and Emily Strunk powered a mini rally before halftime, as Raposo rattled off four straight points to give STAC a 34-33 advantage at the break.
• Sarah Ericson led all scorers with 12 first half points for the Spartans, while Cayla Howard picked up 10 points for the Chargers.
• When the teams returned to the court for second half action, STAC raced out to a 41-35 lead on the strength of a 7-2 run, courtesy of Erin Leary, Trinity Cheatom and Sarah Ericson.
• The teams went back a forth for the remainder of the quarter with each side holding narrow margins and neither being able to pull away. An Erin Leary layup in the final 40 seconds of the stanza put STAC up by one, 51-50 with 10 minutes left to play.
• A major storyline of the fourth quarter was the offensive output from both Erin Leary and Megan Fedor. Leary scored 11 points, and hit three big three-point buckets, while Fedor was masterful inside the paint, beating defenders for three key buckets.
• Leary and Sarah Ericson closed things out with free throws to seal the 79-70 victory over the rivals from just down the road in Orangeburg.

UP NEXT:

STAC heads out on the road, facing Holy Family University on Wednesday, November 15 (6:00 p.m.) at the Campus Center Gymnasium in Philadelphia, Pa.