The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team defeated District of Columbia, 63-61 to advance tothe East Coast Conference Tournament finals in Flushing, NY. The Lady Spartans will face #1 Dowling College tomorrow, March 4 at noon for the ECC Title. Sara Oliviera led all scorers with 21 points, Briana Sloper added 13 and Bianca Kowgios chipped in with 12 for the Lady Spartans. Denikka Brent had 13 for UDC, with Stacy Griffith adding 12

STAC has now won nine straight games and 11 of 12 overall to improve their record to 18-10; if the Lady Spartants capture the ECC title, they will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament. UDC falls to 21-6, but the Firebirds are likely not done as it is expected they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tourney.

St. Thomas Aquinas bolted from the gate quickly against the #2 seed, with Shpresa Liharevic's three-pointer staking the Lady Spartans to an 8-0 lead after less than two minutes of play. STAC would lead by as much as 21-8 before the Firebird offense got on track, as their 9-0 tear trimmed the margin to just four. While UDC was able to keep the deficit within single digits, Oliviera's 17 first-half points led her squad to a 31-23 halftime edge.

The Lady Spartans would pick up where they left off, threatening to put the game away by increasing their lead to 45-29 on an Oliviera jumper with 12:51 remaining. But the contingent from the nation's capital wasn't going down without a fight, as their aggressive defense sparked a 12-1 run to draw within five.

Again, STAC would seemingly weather the storm, jumping back ahead, at 55-44 with just under five minutes left before UDC would set the stage for a frantic finish. The Firebirds would draw to within 61-59 with just 17 seconds left, but clutch free throw shooting by Kowgios down the stretch would not allow them with possession with a chance to tie, as the Lady Spartans would finish the tilt without ever falling behind.

Shooting numbers were roughly even, with STAC recording 36% (17-47) to UDC's 32% (22-68), though the Lady Spartans' perimeter range was key. St. Thomas Aquinas hit on 5-of-10 (50%) in the first half and ended at a solid 41% (7-17) on the game, while the Firebirds hit 5-of-18 (28%). After a tough night from the line in Wednesday's win over Molloy, the Lady Spartans came through in the clutch, hitting 22-of-27 for 82%, with UDC posting 75% (12-of-16). UDC narrowly won the rebounding battle, 39-37.

The task only gets harder for the women's hoops squad, as Dowling College lays in wait in the finals. The top seed advanced earlier today with a convincing 70-53 victory over #4 C.W. Post. The Golden Lions split the regular season series with STAC, with each emerging victorious on their opponents' court.

You can catch all the action as the Lady Spartans continue their drive toward the ECC Championship, as they take on Dowling College at noon. If you can't make it to Queens College to cheer them on in person, be sure to check out the video link at the top of this page to watch the game live as STAC's own crew of Steve Balsan and John Dwinell make the call for the East Coast Conference.