Ashley Motrechuk recorded game highs of 20 points and 13 rebounds as the St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team held on to defeat Roberts Wesleyan College, 63-62 at Aquinas Hall. The Lady Spartans have now won two straight and four of six overall to improve to 6-7 overall and 2-1 in the East Coast Conference. The Redhawks fell to 7-4, 2-2 with the defeat.

Playing their first game in Sparkill as members of the East Coast Conference, the visitors rallied from an early deficit, with a Marissa Bunce trey capping a 17-7 run, giving the Redhawks an early 20-14 advantage. The Lady Spartans battled back to tie on three occasions before RWC used a 7-0 burst to grab its largest lead at 31-24.

After entering the halftime locker room trailing 33-28, STAC battled back, with a pair of Bianca Kowgios free throws staking the hosts to a 43-42 lead with 11:32 left, their first advantage since the early minutes.

Three-pointers by Motrechuk and Alyson Brennan opened a comfortable edge at 63-55 with 4:32 left, but that would be the last points the Lady Spartans would score. A Brittany Williams trey brought the Redhawks to within 63-60 with 1:32 left. A STAC turnover in the final seconds would give Roberts one final chance to tie, but Bunce - who hit five three-pointers on the day - dished to teammate Sarah Alwardt, who settled for a lay-up with two seconds left as the Lady Spartans were able to hang on.

Brennan and Sara Oliviera netted 10 points each for STAC, while Bunce led the RWC attack with 17, aided by Williams' 13. St. Thomas Aquinas prevailed in spite of shooting 5-of-30 from three-point range in large part by taking care of the ball, yielding just 10 turnovers on the afternoon (two in the first half).

The Lady Spartans take their act on the road for ECC tilts at District of Columbia on Wednesday, January 9 and at Mercy College on Saturday, January 12. They return to Aquinas Hall to meet NYIT on Wednesday, January 16, in a 5:30 pm start.