he St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team fell to a 62-48 defeat in an East Coast Conference contest at the University of the District of Columbia. Jenna Erickson led STAC with 13 points but her team dropped to 8-11 overall and, 4-6 in conference play, with UDC improving to 14-3, 7-2.

A see-saw start saw several lead changes with KC Sokolski giving STAC an early 10-6 lead, but Dennika Brent capped an 11-3 UDC run to put the hosts on top, 17-13. Neither team would build a lead in excess of five points over the first 20 minutes, which ended with the Firebirds enjoying a 25-21 advantage.

STAC kept the contest close in the early stages of the second half but the hosts gradually extended their edge, taking their biggest lead at 47-36 with just under eight minutes to play. The game was far from over, as a pair of three-pointers from Samantha Burden and a pair of field goals from Erickson spurred a 10-2 Lady Spartan outburst, drawing the gap to 49-46 with just under five minutes left on the clock.

UDC would take charge from there, however, scoring the next four points and reeling off a 13-2 run the rest of the way to close out the home victory. Brent led the way for the Firebirds with a game-high 17 points, while teammate Tatyana Calhoun added 12 and a dominant 16 rebound performance. Alyson Brennan and Adiya Henderson added eight points each for STAC.

The Lady Spartans will now have a break before returning to action next Wednesday, January 28, when they travel to face the University of Bridgeport. They return to Aquinas Hall on Saturday, January 31, when Dowling College pays a visit. Tip off of the East Coast Conference double-header starts at 1:00 pm, preceding the men's contest.