The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team held a fourth-quarter lead before falling to first-place New York Institute of Technology, 67-61, in an East Coast Conference battle at Aquinas Hall. The Lady Spartans have now dropped three straight and stand at 13-8 overall and 6-7 in the ECC, while NYIT won its 13th straight to improve to 18-5, 12-0.

In a fast-paced first quarter, it was the Lady Spartans grabbing the early edge with the game's first six points. While NYIT needed nearly three minutes to score its first points, the offense would kick in quickly, finishing the quarter with a 12-2 run and a 21-15 lead.

That margin would grow to 31-20 by the midway point of the second quarter, but this time it was STAC roaring back, with a 9-0 run to trim the margin to a pair before trailing by four at 33-29 at the break.

St. Thomas Aquinas finally tied the score at 44-44 midway through the third on an Alex Bertolino three-point play, and the contest would be deadlocked four more times into the final stanza. Tiara Place broke another tie with a free throw to make the score 51-50, but Sam Burden sank a pair with 7:23 left to give the Lady Spartans their first lead since the early stages.

One minute later, Dina Ragab answered with a field goal, setting off an 8-0 run that put her Bears ahead to stay. STAC made a final push, as KC Sokolski's lay-up with 2:16 remaining trimmed the margin to 61-59, but Shannon Duer netted her team's final six points from the foul line to secure the win.

Jenna Erickson led the Lady Spartans with 11 points, while Duer and Nina Vukosavljevic posted 15 each for NYIT.

The Lady Spartans travel to face LIU Post in an ECC tilt on Saturday, February 6, before returning to Aquinas Hall to host Daemen College on Thursday, February 11. Tip-off is set for 6:00 pm, with the mens' teams to follow at approximately 8:00 pm.

- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information

- Photo by Dorice Arden