The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team was unable to hold a 10-point halftime lead, falling to Molloy College by a 57-53 count in an East Coast Conference game at Aquinas Hall. The Lady Spartans fell to 11-13, 7-12 with the loss, with Molloy improving to 14-11, 11-7.

Molloy's Kelly Guerrero opened the scoring from downtown on the game's first shot, just 26 seconds into play. The defenses would then take over, with a STAC free throw accounting for the only scoring over the next 5 1/2 minutes before a Colleen Ames trey gave the Lady Spartans their first lead.

After the visitors took an 8-6 advantage, STAC's offense got in gear, scoring the next 10 points as part of a 19-4 run, with the Lady Spartans opening a 25-12 lead with under five minutes left in the half. The Lions whittled that gap to seven points before St. Thomas Aquinas hit the locker room with a 32-22 advantage.

STAC started the second half much as they did the first, hitting just one free throw over the first five minutes and not scoring from the field until 5:35 was played. During that time, Molloy had roared back to tie the score at 33-33, only to see the Lady Spartans score the next four points to reclaim the edge.

That would not be enough, as Molloy embarked on a 14-4 run, opening up their biggest gap at 48-41. STAC would draw within 53-51 on a Sam Burden basket with under a minute to play, but Molloy's Nicole Arnone - a force throughout the game - calmly sank four free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win.

Arnone recorded game highs with 16 points and 16 rebounds, with Guerrero adding 12 on four three-pointers. Molloy's defense was up to the task, keeping all of the Lady Spartans under double figures in scoring. Sam Burden led the squad with nine points, and Alyson Brennan was tough on the glass, pulling down 12 rebounds.

The Lady Spartans will wrap up the 2013-14 season on Sunday, March 2, when Roberts Wesleyan College visits Aquinas Hall for an East Coast Conference tilt.