Th St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team opened its three-game Hawaii trip with a gritty 84-77 overtime victory at Chaminade. Alyson Brennan had the hot hand, leading all scorers with 32 points as the Lady Spartans improved to 2-1 while dropping the Silverswords to 0-3.

After an exhange of leads in the opening minutes, the Lady Spartans went three minutes without a point and the hosts embarked on a 13-2 run overall, giving Chaminade a 19-9 lead after eight minutes of action.

STAC began to hit its stride in the waning minutes of the session, with Brennan posting four points in a 7-0 run to close to 37-36 at halftime.

That would continue to be the theme of the game, which saw 19 lead changes in all. Chaminade led by as many as five in the second half but STAC roared back, with a Brennan layup giving her squad a 63-59 edge with four minutes left.

Jenna Erickson's three pointer looked to put the visitors in charge at 66-61 with just over three minutes left in regulation, but Katie Buskie contributed a block, a field goal, and a three pointer in a 60-second span to key a stunning 8-0 run, giving Chaminade a 69-66 edge with 2:13 left.

Brennan would come through to erase that lead with a driving layup and-one with just under a minute to go, eventually sending the contest into overtime. She would go on to score the first hoop in the extra session and the Lady Spartans would lead the rest of the way, with a Lexi Breheny free throw capping a 6-0 run to give her team its largest lead of the game at 83-75.

Kate McCue added 11 points and Jenna Erickson provided 10, with Kristle Henry and Glacen Florita leading the Chaminade contingent with 19 points each.

The Lady Spartans continue their Hawaii trip tomorrow, November 27, challenging Hawaii-Pacific  in an 8:00 EST start. The trip concludes on Friday as STAC takes on Hawaii-Hilo.