Bianca Kowgios led four Lady Spartans in double-figures as the St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team grabbed a thrilling 72-65 overtime victory over CW Post. The roll continues for the Lady Spartans, who have now won four straight and six of their last seven games to improve to 13-10 overall, and 8-5 in the East Coast Conference. Post's loss was their second in three contests, and drops them into a deadlock with STAC in the ECC standings at 8-5, with their overall mark falling to 17-8.

The battle between two of the conference's best lived up to its billiing as both teams set a high tempo early. Stifling defensive pressure and a pair of three-pointers by Catherine Lutz staked the Lady Pioneers to a 16-8 lead just seven minutes in. STAC would answer quickly as Sara Oliviera would stroke a trey of her own to kick off an 11-5 spurt that closed the deficit to 21-19.

An Ashley Caggiano layup with 6:10 left would help the visitors reestablish their biggest margin at 31-23 but the resilient Lady Spartans would answer with nine of the next 11 points. They proceeded to grab the halftime lead at 36-35 thanks to a pair of Briana Sloper free throws to cap off a highly entertaining first 20 minutes.

More of the same was in store for the second half, which saw several lead changes and neither team gaining a lead of more than five points until the final frantic minutes. STAC seemed to have matters well in hand with a 61-55 edge in the final minute, but a pair of missed free throws opened the door for Felicia Joyner as the senior dropped a pair of shots from downtown - the last with just three ticks left - to send the affair to extra time.

This time it was St. Thomas Aquinas' key senior, Sloper, who would take charge, hitting an early jumper and then coming up with a steal and a breakaway layup to stake her squad to a four point edge. A Nicolette Marciniak jumper brought the Lady Pioneers to within 68-65, but a Kim Vareles baseline jumper with a foot on the arc and the shot clock expiring would seal the deal in front of a jubilant Aquinas Hall crowd.

Kowgios added seven rebounds to go with her team-high point total, and was joined in doubles by Sloper (13 points), Shpresa Liharevic (12) and Oliviera (11), while Ashley Motrechuk pulled down 11 rebounds. Joyner led all scorers with 16, Caggiano added 10, and Marciniak also hit for 10 while grabbing a dominant 20 caroms for Post.

The Lady Spartans shot 37% from the floor (24-65) while Post was held to 35% (25-72), but STAC held court at the charity stripe, hitting 21-24 (88%) while their foes connected for just 58% (7-12). CW Post took the rebounding battle, 49-42, but STAC took better care of the rock with just 16 turnovers to their opponents' 21.

Just three games remain in the regular season as the Lady Spartans make their push for the ECC Tournament. They will travel to face NYIT on February 15 and journey to the University of Bridgeport on the 22nd before hosting Mercy College to wrap up the pre-tournament portion of the schedule on Senior Day, Saturday, February 25. If you can't be on hand to enjoy Alumni Day and all the action of STAC hoops, be sure to watch the game online and follow along with our Live Stats feature.