The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team erased a 12-point deficit before falling to Queens College, 63-59, in an East Coast Conference battle at Aquinas Hall. STAC fell to 6-2 overall and 1-2 in the ECC with the setback, while Queens improved to 4-1, 1-0.

STAC scored the game's first four points but Queens bolted on a 12-2 run to open a six-point lead early on. Lauren Melville's late hoop knotted the score at 12-12 after ten minutes of play. The Knights would take charge in the second quarter with a 17-4 run, turning a STAC lead into a 31-20 deficit, though the Lady Spartans would score the next four points to trail by seven at the half.

That lead would increase to 45-33 with less than two minutes to play in the third, but KC Sokolski would score five points in a 9-1 run to close the gap to 46-42 at the end of three. Madison Rowland's three pointer would stake the visitors to a 56-46 gap with six minutes left, but again the Lady Spartans would rally.

Jenna Erickson and Alex Bertolino each hit from deep as part of a stunning 10-0 run to tie the score with 2:48 to play. Queens would post the next four points before a Bertolino free throw cut the gap to 60-57 with 45 seconds left.

A pair of missed free throws was followed by a KC Sokolski lay-up with 14 seconds left, bringing STAC to within 60-59. Madison Rowland's foul shot made it a two point game, and the Lady Spartans had a chance to tie in the final seconds but Melville's shot was off the mark, and the ensuing foul shots sealed the win for Queens.

Adiya Henderson led four Lady Spartans in double-figures with 13 points, with Sokolski (11), Erickson (10) and Bertolino (10) also contributing. Madison Rowland recorded a game-high 22 points with sister MacKenzie Rowland adding 12 to go with 11 rebounds.

The Lady Spartans return to action on Saturday, December 12, hosting Molloy College in a 1:00 pm tip at Aquinas Hall. The game is the front end of a double-header, with the men's squads following at 3:00 pm.

- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information

- Photo by Dorice Arden