After falling into an early 11-point hole, the St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team rallied for a 68-59 victory at the University of Bridgeport. Briana Sloper exploded for 20 of her game-high 27 points in the second half and added 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Spartans.
STAC's victory ran its win streak to six overall, eight of nine, to stand at 15-10 overall, 10-5 in the East Coast Conference. With District of Columbia's win over Molloy, the Lady Spartans have now clinched either the #3 or #4 seed in the upcoming conference tournament, guaranteeing that they will host a first round contest next Wednesday, February 29 at Aquinas Hall at 7:00 pm. Bridgeport fell to 8-17 overall, 6-9 ECC, and saw their playoff prospects dwindle entering the final weekend of the season.
Coming off a bye this past Saturday, the Lady Spartans showed some rust in the early minutes. Bridgeport's Tanisha Carter posted six of her team-high 22 points to stake her team to a 13-2 run just five minutes in. The wake-up call was received as STAC took charge, embarking on a 27-5 run over next 14 minutes to turn the game around.
The rally started with a 10-0 run over a 3:30 span and closed the gap to 13-12. A Sara Oliviera trey with 6:23 left gave the visitors their first lead at 20-18 and two subsequent Oliviera bombs put her squad ahead, 28-18. An Edna Marant jumper for the Purple Knights in final minute snapped a 14-0 STAC run over nearly seven minutes, but Aquinas maintained a 29-20 gap at the half.
Picking up where they left off, Sloper reeled off seven points in a 9-4 surge to stake her squad to its biggest lead at 38-24 with 17 minutes remaining. The hosts weren't done just yet, as Bridgeport finally shook off their cold spell, and an 11-2 run closed the gap to just five. Once again, Sloper would take charge with a bucket and three free throws to open the margin to 10 and St Thomas Aquinas would ride the wave the rest of the way.
Bianca Kowgios added 13 points for the Lady Spartans with Oliviera chipping in with 12. In addition to Carter's scoring exploits, Julia Colley added to the Purple Knights' attack with 12 points and 11 boards. STAC was solid from the floor, shooting 45% (25-of-55) while holding UB to 38% (24-64). The Lady Spartans held a narrow 39-37 rebounding edge.
Just one game remains in the 2011-12 regular season, as the Lady Spartans close out against Mercy College this Saturday, February 25 at Aquinas Hall. Tip-off time is set for 1:00 pm and will be preceded by Senior Day festivities, with the men's hoops squad attempting to keep their playoff hopes alive in the nightcap. If you can't make it to the game, be sure to follow all the action via video and Live Stats by clicking on the appropriate links on the schedule. Should the Lady Spartans win their playoff opener on the 29th (opponent TBD), they will advance to the ECC semi-finals which will be held at Queens College on Saturday, March 3. The finals will be held the next day, with the tourney champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament.