The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team started the 2015-16 season with a 78-61 victory over Felician University in the opener of the STAC Conference Challenge at Aquinas Hall. Jenna Erickson led all scorers with 24 points in the season opening contest for both teams.
Both teams battled first-night jitters in the opening quarter, with the Lady Spartans holding a 9-0 lead until Felician netted its first points after nearly eight minutes of play. STAC carried an 11-5 edge after the first 10-minute session, and Ruth Adams' three-point play to open the second quarter increased the lead to 14-5.
Erickson hit a trey and Alyson Brennan added another in the later stages to put the hosts in a 30-17 lead, though they would settle for a 31-21 edge at halftime. With just seven points to her credit after 20 minutes, Erickson would take charge in the second half.
Felician's Shyla Osmond got the crowd's attention with a quick three-pointer to start the third, but the Lady Spartans would ride an 8-0 run to a 41-27 gap midway through the quarter. That would immediately be followed by a 13-2 STAC outburst, breaking the game open at 54-31.
STAC would continue to lead by upwards of 20 points until the midway point of the final quarter, until a pair of deep treys from Osmond threatened to make the final minutes interesting, with the gap closed to just 69-59 with 1:38 left. St. Thomas Aquinas would seal the deal with nine straight free throws, seven by Erickson.
Brennan and Alexis Breheny chipped in 10 points each for the Lady Spartans, who forced 30 Felician turnovers on the evening. Osmond led the visitors with 15 points, while teammate Eliana Scanlon contributed 14.
In other opening day action, Ashley Weismann recorded 16 points as Merrimack held off District of Columbia for a 75-66 decision. UDC's Iman Scott led all scorers with 18 points.
The Lady Spartans return to action on Day 2 of the STAC Conference Challenge as part of a full day of basketball at Aquinas Hall on Saturday. Women's action starts at 1:00 pm with UDC taking on Felician, followed at 3:00 pm by the Lady Spartans hosting Merrimack in the women's finale.
Starting at 5:30 pm, the men will take center stage, with Molloy squaring off with St. Anselm's. The STAC men's basketball team will close out the day with an 8:00 pm start against St. Michael's. Sunday's final day will see Molloy meet St. Michael's at 2:00 pm, with the Spartans hosting St. Anselm's in the tournament's final tilt, starting at 4:30 pm.
- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information
- Photo by Dorice Arden