The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team rallied before dropping an East Coast Conference decision to Daemen College, 79-73 in overtime. Ruth Adams' career-high 28 points was not enough for the Lady Spartans, who dropped their fifth straight to fall to 13-10 overall and 6-9 in the ECC, while Daemen improved to 7-13, 5-9.

Jenna Erickson's jumper staked the Lady Spartans to an 11-5 lead midway through the first  quarter, but Sarah Saba hit a trio of buckets to rally the visitors to a 19-15 edge by the end of the quarter. STAC's defense held the Wildcats scoreless for the first four minutes of the second quarter in taking a 23-19 lead, but when the visitors' defense arrived it turned the tide.

Liz Miles and Leah McDonnell ran off five straight points each as Demen closed out the second quarter with a 17-4 outburst to grab a 38-30 halftime lead. The Lady Spartans drew to within 56-54 after three, but the visitors were back in charge with a 69-60 gap with six and a half minutes to play.

Kate McCue hit a trio of field goals, including the game-tying hoop with 1:01 left in regulation, capping an 11-2 run to send the game into extra time. Adams' jumper in the first 20 seconds of OT gave the hosts a 73-72 lead, their first since the opening quarter. Those would be the Lady Spartans' last points of the night, however, as the Wildcats scored the next seven to secure the win.

McCue added 12 points for STAC, while Leah McDonnell led four Daemen scorers in double-figures with 19 points.

The Lady Spartans return to action on Saturday, February 13, as Roberts Wesleyan College visits Aquinas Hall for a 2:00 pm tip. That game is the front end of a double-header featuring the men's teams starting at 4:30. The home stand ends Tuesday as STAC hosts Mercy in another ECC twin-bill starting at 6:00 pm.

- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information

- Photo by Dorice Arden