The St. Thomas Aquinas College Lady Spartans captured a 64-50 East Coast Conference victory over the University of Bridgeport at Aquinas Hall. STAC led, 34-16 at half and was not threatened thereafter while improving to 12-5 overall and 5-4 in ECC action. Bridgeport fell to 5-11, 3-5 with the loss.
Both teams struggled for pointe early, as Alex Bertolino's jumper and Alyson Brennan's three-pointer was the only scoring near the midway point of the session. Bridgeport scored the next seven points to grab a brief lead, but the Lady Spartans scored the final four points to take a 12-8 advantage after one.
STAC would carry that momentum into the second quarter with four different scorers combining to score the first nine points - a 14-0 run in all spanning over six minutes - to give the hosts a 21-8 lead. Bertolino would hit a pair of treys and Erickson added another down the stretch as the Lady Spartans' 22-8 quarter would open up an 18-point bulge at the half.
Though the Purple Knights' offense finally showed up in a 20-point third quarter, Jenna Erickson quashed any thoughts of a comeback with 10 of her team-high 15 points, as the final margin was as close as the visitors were to get.
Bertolino added 13 points for St. Thomas Aquinas, while Bridgeport's Kadijah Dickson was the standout with game highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds. The Purple Knights outrebounded STAC by a decisive 45-29 margin, but tenacious defense forced a stunning 38 Bridgeport turnovers, 25 in the first half alone.
The Lady Spartans return to action on Friday, January 22, traveling to face Dowling College at 3:00 pm. That is the first of three straight ECC road tilts before the team returns to Aquinas Hall to host NYIT on Wednesday, February 3.
Please Note - Due to the impending inclement weather forecast for Saturday, the scheduled double-header at Dowling will now be played on FRIDAY, JANUARY 22. Women's action starts at 3:00 pm, followed by the men at 5:00 pm.
- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information
- Photo by Dorice Arden