The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team came up short in a tough 70-69 East Coast Conference loss at Queens College. Jenna Erickson led the comeback effort with 19 points but her Lady Spartans dropped their second straight to stand at 5-5 overall and 2-2 in ECC action. Queens improved to 5-1, 3-1 with the home court triumph.

Each team took multiple turns holding the lead in a very evenly-played start. Queens was the first team to take charge, however, holding STAC scoreless for nearly three minutes in an 8-0 burst that opened the largest lead to that point at 30-22. That gap would swell to as many as 12 points before a pair of Erickson free throws sent the teams to half with the Knights in a 40-30 lead.

Erickson opened the second half with a trey to bring her team to within seven, but Amber Harrison's layup capped a 9-2 run, spotting the home squad to a 49-35 lead with 14 minutes to play. STAC would receive a wakeup call, however, with five different players contributing to a 12-0 outburst, drawing to within 49-47 midway through the half. Erickson keyed that rally with a consecutive pair of three pointers.

After a McKenzie Rowland free throw put the Knights back up by three, Alyson Brennan cut the game to 50-49 with a layup. That was as close as STAC would get, as Queens responeded with a 9-0 run to get the lead back into double-digits. St. Thomas Aquinas would continue to chip away, with a Brennan trey drawing to 67-65 with under two to play but the visitors were destined to come up short as Imani Davidson answered from downtown in her own right. Kristen Olsen's late three provided the final margin as STAC did not have possession with a chance to tie in the final minutes.

Brennan chipped in with 15 points for STAC while Kate McCue had the double-double with 10 points and as many rebounds. Madison Rowland led all scorers with 20 points while sister MacKenzie Rowland added 17.

The Lady Spartans conclude their string of four straight on the road with a non-conference journey to West Point to challenge Army on Saturday, December 20 at 1:00 pm. They will then enjoy the holiday break before finishing the year hosting Southern Connecticut State at Aquinas Hall on December 31.