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Slow Start Stops STAC; Late Lady Spartans Rally Falls Short at NYIT, 86-76

Slow Start Stops STAC; Late Lady Spartans Rally Falls Short at NYIT, 86-76
Posted: Jan 14, 2014

The St. Thomas Aquinas College Lady Spartans battled back from a large deficit but came up short in an 86-76 East Coast Conference setback at New York Institute of Technology. Kristen Olsen led the Lady Spartans with a game-high 28 points but her team fell to 7-5 overall and 3-4 in ECC play. NYIT improved to 8-5, 5-3 with the win.

After trading baskets leading to an early 5-4 NYIT lead, the hosts took charge with an 18-5 outburst over an eight-minute span, creating a 23-9 lead midway through the session. Thanks largely to Olsen's sharp shooting from the free-throw stripe, the Lady Spartans were able to find their bearings and entered halftime trailing by 12 at 42-30.

NYIT jumped out to its biggest lead at 51-34 just four minutes into the second half, and appeared to have the game in cruise control when Maddison Campbell's bucket put the bears in a 75-60 lead with six minutes to play.

Far from being out of the picture, STAC started a comeback with a Briana Cook foul shot. A pair of free throws from Sam Burden, a Cook basket, and a Burden jumper brought the visitors to within 75-67 with four minutes left.

A KC Sokolski free throw followed by another Cook hoop and two more from the line by Samantha Lane capped a 12-0 run, bringing the Lady Spartans to within 75-72 with still over three minutes remaining. After Demitra Apergis' foul shot put NYIT up by four, STAC missed three straight attempts from the field before a Cook put-back trimmed the maring to 76-74 with 2:13 remaining.

Moments later, however, Tech's Rebecca Romeo nailed a corner three-pointer, putting her team back ahead by five points and effectively ending the Lady Spartans' comeback effort.

In addition to Olsen's prolific offense, Cook added 14 points and Lane posted 11. Dina Ragab paced the Bears with 26 points, with Romeo chipping in with 13. NYIT dominated the boards by a 55-31 margin.

The Lady Spartans return home this Saturday, January 18 for an East Coast Conference match-up against LIU-Post. Tipoff time is 1:00 pm, as the front end of a double-header featuring the men's teams.