Bianca Kowgios' bucket with 18.4 seconds left lifted the St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team to a 56-54 victory at LeMoyne College. Ashley Motrechuk's block preserved the win and Shpresa Liharevic led the way with 17 points as STAC erased a 16-point second half deficit with a 28-10 run. The Lady Spartans improved to 5-7, dropping the Dolphins to 3-7 for the season.

Playing their first game after an 11-day layoff, the Lady Spartans held their own early as a pair of Liharevic baskets staked the visitors to an early 11-10 lead. It was LeMoyne who would take carge, however, holding STAC scoreless for over a seven-minute span, with an 11-0 run opening a 24-13 lead. While the Lady Spartans were able to regain their touch thereafter, they still trailed 32-20 at halftime.

An Emily Greer lay-up, two of her game-high 18 points, staked the Dolphins to their biggest lead of the afternoon, at 44-28 with just under 15 minutes to play. Another Liharevic jumper sparked a 12-1 STAC spurt to cut the deficit to five, but the hosts were able to reclaim their double-digit margin at 50-40 with just under eight minutes to play.

Once again, the Lady Spartans would battle back, as field goals from Motrechuk, Liharevic, KC Sokolski, and Sara Oliviera quickly trimmed the margin to 50-48. LeMoyne's tenuous lead would remain at 54-51 in the final two minutes before an Alexis Breheny jumper brought STAC within one.

Both teams exchanged misses in the final minute before Kowgios' heroics, as her running bank shot gave the Lady Spartans their first lead since the early minutes of play. With a chance to reclaim the lead, Alex Marple's shot attempt was rejected by Motrechuk, and Breheny sank one of two free throws at the other end to provide the final margin.

In addition to her point production, Liharevic also tied for a game-high 12 rebounds, and Oliviera added 11 points. Maggie Brown posted 12 points and 12 boards for the Dolphins, with Marple hitting double-figures with 11 points.

The Lady Spartans have now won three of their last five games and hope to carry that momentum into the new year, as they resume East Coast Conference play by hosting Roberts Wesleyan College on Saturday, January 5, at Aquinas Hall. Tip-off time is set for 1:00 pm, and if you can't make it out to cheer on the team in person, be sure to follow our live video cast and LiveStats online.