The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team suffered a 54-35 defeat at the hands of nationally-ranked Holy Family University at Aquinas Hall. Shpresa Liharevic led all scorers with 13 points. The Lady Spartans have dropped three of their last four in falling to 2-4 overall, while HFU took home its fourth straight win to improve to 4-1.

STAC got off to a solid start and held an early 5-4 lead after four minutes of play on the strength of a Liharevic three-pointer. The Tigers turned up their fierce defensive pressure, however, holding the Lady Spartans without a point for over 10 minutes in running off a 15-point streak.

While the defense was able to help the Lady Spartans stay in the contest through the first half, the offense just couldn't find the range as Holy Family took a 23-11 lead into the break. It was all Tigers in the second half, however, as a 17-6 run broke the contest open for good. Katie Duma was the only player from Holy Family in double-figures, leading a balanced attack with 10 points.

The Lady Spartans will tip off the East Coast Conference schedule against Dowling College this Saturday, December 1, at Aquinas Hall. The women's teams will start off the twin-bill at 1:00, followed by the men's contest at 3:00. If you can't make it to the gym to catch the action, be sure to watch our video presentation and follow along with LiveStats online.