The St. Thomas Aquinas College Lady Spartans built a big lead en route to an 82-71 East Coast Conference victory over Mercy College at Aquinas Hall. Sabrina Eggink led all scorers with 20 points for the Lady Spartans, who snapped a five game skid to improve to 8-8 overall and 4-7 in ECC action. Mercy dropped its seventh straight, falling to 2-15, 1-11.

Mercy utilized an early 10-2 run to grab a six point lead after five minutes of play, but a STAC timeout got the ship righted as the Lady Spartans grabbed an 11-10 advantage with a 7-0 run of their own. The Mavericks briefly regained a lead but STAC took off on another 9-2 burst, grabbing an advantage they would not relinquish. Kristen Olsen contributed hot perimeter shooting, leading the hosts to a 43-30 halftime lead.

STAC continued to roll after the break, widening their gap to 60-40 with 12:43 to play. Mercy would pull to as close as 14 points on three occasions, only to see the Lady Spartans answer, as a 10-1 outburst put them in a comfortable 82-59 lead with just over three minutes left. The Mavericks would catch fire, reeling off the game's final 12 points, but it would prove to be far too little and too late.

Olsen contributed 19 points to the STAC effort, with Lexi Breheny adding 14 points and 10 assists. Alexis Monserrate led the way for Mercy with 18 points, with Maria Nardulli posting 14 and Maggie Salomone recording 13.

The Lady Spartans travel south on Saturday, February 1, taking on University of the District of Columbia in a 2:00 pm start. They return to Aquinas Hall on Monday, February 3, hosting Molloy College starting at 6:00 pm, then welcome Bridgeport to the Sparkill facility on Wednesday, February 5, starting at 5:30 pm. All of these games are ECC contests, and each precedes the men's game between the same schools.