The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team rebounded from a 12-point deficit to tie the score before falling, 53-51, in an East Coast Conference battle at the University of Bridgeport. Adiya Henderson led STAC with 12 points but her team dropped to 8-12 overall and 4-7 in the ECC, while Bridgeport upped its mark to 3-16, 1-10.

Bridgeport rallied to turn an eight-point first half deficit into a 12-point lead in the waning minutes, but the Lady Spartans battled back to set the stage for last-minute drama. Sabrina Eggink tied the score at 51-51 with less than 30 seconds to play, but Shannon Holt would score the deciding bucket for the Purple Knights wiith just 1.4 seconds remaining on the clock.

In search of its first conference win of the season, Bridgeport got off to a strong start, building a 13-8 lead eight minutes into the contest. STAC would then roar back, with Alyson Brennan hitting a three-pointer to cap a 15-2 outburst, putting the Lady Spartans in a 23-15 lead with 3:30 left in the first half.

STAC's offense would then stall, however, and the hosts would take full advantage. The Purple Knights would outscore St. Thomas Aquinas by a 28-8 margin in a span of over 16 minutes in grabbing a 43-31 edge with just over seven minutes to play.

As suddenly as it disappeared, the Lady Spartans offense came to life, recording 16 points over the next 6 minutes, with a pair of Jenna Erickson foul shots cutting the gap to 49-47 with under two minutes left.

Casey Bray converted a free throw for UB with 50 seconds left, and Henderson answered with a layup to bring STAC to within 50-49. Jenna Hoffman made one of two from the stripe, giving the visitors a chance, and Sabrina Eggink tied the score with a driving hoop with 23 seconds to play.

Holding for the final shot of regulation, Bridgeport's Tiara Aziz missed her first attempt and a putback, but Holt was on the spot to put her team ahead to stay with 1.4 seconds left on the clock, as Brennan's desperation heave at the buzzer came up short.

Henderson and Holt tied for the game high in points with 12 each, while Samantha Burden chipped in with 10 for St. Thomas Aquinas. STAC shot just 35% from the field (19-54) on the night, with Bridgeport hitting at a 41% clip (20-49).

The Lady Spartans are back in action this Saturday, January 31, when Dowling College visits Aquinas Hall for an East Coast Conference double-header. Double-header action starts with the women's game tipoff at 1:00 pm, followed by the men's teams hitting the floor in a 3:30 pm start.