The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball fell to the University of the District of Columbia, 76-62 at Aquinas Hall. The game was the East Coast Conference season opener for both squads, and the first setback of the season for STAC which fell to 3-1 overall, and 0-1 in the ECC, while UDC remained perfect at 4-0, 1-0.

St. Thomas Aquinas got off to a sluggish start on offense, trailing by a 6-1 count and requiring nearly five minutes to register its first field goal of the afternoon. After battling back to within 10-9 on a Sabrina Eggink free throw with 11:54 left in the first half, the story became one of a series of runs.

Tiara Goode nailed a pair of long-distance jumpers to spark an 8-0 outburst, giving the Firebirds their largest lead at 18-9. STAC finally found the range, with Colleen Ames hitting three treys in an 11-0 outburst, giving the Lady Spartans their first lead at 20-18. UDC answered with an 11-2 spurt to regain the lead before taking a 31-26 lead after 20 minutes.

The second half would prove to be unkind for the home team, with UDC's leading scorer Telisha Turner taking charge. The Firebirds were hot after the break, with their 12-4 run opening up a 13-point lead at 43-30. Turner would proceed to record 20 of her game-high 25 points after the break, as UDC extended their lead to as many as 20 points while cruising to victory.

Eggink and Kristen Olsen led the Lady Spartans with 13 points each, with Ames Chipping in with 10. Denikka Brent added 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Firebirds.

The Lady Spartans will once again have a week between games before returning to action on Saturday, November 30 for an ECC battle at Mercy College beginning at 12:30 pm. They return to Aquinas Hall for a non-conference tilt with Felician College on Thursday, December 5 against Felician College starting at 5:30 pm.