The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team jumped to an early lead an never looked back in an 86-40 East Coast Conference decision at Aquinas Hall. Among the four Lady Spartans in double-figures was Colleen Ames, who posted a career-high 14 points as her team won its fifth straight to improve to 13-11, 9-5. Mercy remained winless on the season, dropping to 0-22, 0-14. The victory also clinched a slot in the ECC post-season tournament for St. Thomas Aquinas.

There was little doubt in this one from the outset, as STAC's Ashley Motrechuk recorded the first five points of the game (en route to a game-high 16) and the Lady Spartans ran off a 13-0 lead out of the gate. Mercy showed signs of life with an 8-2 run to trim the margin to 15-8, but that was as close as the Mavericks would get the rest of the evening.

STAC took off on a 22-5 run in the closing minutes of the first half to open a 44-15 lead and cruised to a 45-19 chasm entering the halftime break. With the luxury of a comfortable margin, the Lady Spartans were able to spread the playing time in the second half, with 10 players accounting for 15 minutes or more of action.

In addition to Motrechuk and Ames, Shpresa Liharevic and Sara Oliviera hit double-figures in points with 13 each, while Alyson Brennan cleared a game-high 10 rebounds. MarQuesha Moore and Aysha Williams split the scoring lead for the visitors with 11 apiece. The Lady Spartans hit 13 treys in all, and dominated the boards by a 57-34 margin.

With Bridgeport's loss at NYIT, the Lady Spartans move into a tie for third in the ECC with Bridgeport, with both teams standing at 9-5 and LIU-Post a game back at 8-6. The Lady Spartans will face a stern test in their next outing on Saturday, February 16, when they travel to NYIT to take on the Bears, who are currently in first place with a 13-1 conference mark. The Lady Spartans return to Aquinas Hall on Saturday, February 23, hosting Bridgeport in a 1:00 pm start as the front end of a double-header with the men's teams.