The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team won a tough defensive battle in a 48-46 victory over the University of Bridgeport in an East Coast Conference tilt at Aquinas Hall. Sam Burden hit the game winning layup with 28 seconds left. The Lady Spartans improve to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play, with Bridgeport dropping to 1-6, 0-2.

Defense set the tone early, with each team taking turns establishing dominance. Bridgeport recorded the game's first six points, only to see STAC run off the next seven. At that point, the hosts would go five minutes without a point, as a 13-0 Purple Knights run opened a 19-7 advantage midway through the first half.

STAC would then take charge, holding the visitors without a field goal for over seven minutes, with a pair of Sabrina Eggink foul shots capping a 13-1 outburst, tying the game at 20-20. The battle would be waged from there, with the teams settling for a 24-24 tie at half, and neither squad establishing a lead in excess of four points thereafter.

A pair of Jenna Erickson three-pointers helped turn a two-point deficit into a 42-38 Lady Spartan lead with nine minutes to go. STAC would score just six points from that time forward, but it was enough to claim the win thanks to stingy defense.

Bridgeport's Jenna Hoffman hit a pair of free throws and followed with a hoop to draw the contest at 46-46 with just 44 seconds remaining in regulation play. After a timeout, a well-executed set saw Burden emerge alone under the basket, where her spinning lay-up put the hosts ahead to stay with 28 ticks left.

The game was far from over as Hoffman missed from the field but Tiara Aziz rebounded for the offense with :18 on the clock. Aziz would miss with five seconds left, but the Lady Spartans would subsequently turn the ball over in the backcourt, giving UB one final chance with 2.7 left. Aziz would break free momentarily, but her baseline drive was thwarted by a perfect block from behind by Kate McCue to preserve the win.

In a game that was evenly-played in most statistical categories, free throw shooting provided a glaring difference, with STAC going 10-11 (91%) to Bridgeport's 8-15 (53%). STAC's Sabrina Eggink and UB's Shannon Holt were the only scorers in double-figures in the defensive affair, with each posting 10 points.

The Lady Spartans hit the road for the next four games, starting with a non-conference battle at Felician College on Thursday, December 11, before resuming ECC play at Dowling College next Saturday, December 13. They return to Aquinas Hall to host Southern Connecticut State University in a 1:00 pm start on New Year's Eve, December 31.