The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team battled throughout but were unable to upend Southern Connecticut State University in a 63-54 loss. Briana Cook tied for the game-high with 16 points as the Lady Spartans fell to 1-2 overall, while SCSU improved to 2-1 with the home triumph.

After yielding the game's first six points, the Lady Spartans saw Sara Oliviera hit a jumper to cap an 8-1 run and put the visitors ahead for the first time. That would set the tempo for a see-saw first half that ended with a pair of Shpresa Liharevic free throws, sending the team's to the locker room with SCSU holding a 29-28 edge.

More of the same was in store for the opening minutes of the second half before the Owls took off on a 10-0 run to open a 48-36 gap with 11:56 remaining. That would prove to be decisive as STAC was able to draw back within six points with just over six minutes left, but never seriously threatened thereafter.

In addition to Cook's 16 points, Liharevic put in 11 for the Lady Spartans, while Moni Smith-Ocran also had 16 points to go with a game-high 15 rebounds for SCSU, and teammate Camille Fantini added 10 points and 10 boards. Southern held a decisive 47-36 rebounding edge while also outshooting St. Thomas Aquinas by a 45% to 34% margin.

STAC's women's hoops squad will look to get on a run, playing four of their next five contests at Aquinas Hall. The string starts this Tuesday, November 20, when the Lady Spartans host nearby rival Dominican College in a 5:30 start. If you can't make it to the gym, be sure to follow along with our live video broadcast as well as LiveStats.