The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team rallied for a 75-66 victory over the University of Bridgeport in an East Coast Conference battle at Aquinas Hall. The Spartans won their fifth straight to improve to 15-3 overall and a perfect 7-0 in the ECC while Bridgeport dropped its sixth straight to fall to 4-15, 2-5.

Though STAC entered with the better record, Bridgeport hit three three-pointers to grab a 15-13 first quarter lead before Kellyann Averall capped off a 6-0 run to give the hosts a 19-15 lead after 10 minutes. The Spartans led for the entire second quarter, though the game remained close, until Samirah Henderson's three tied the score at 36-36 just inside the final minute of the half. Zaria Thomas quickly answered from deep to put STAC back on top, but Gracen Kerr again tied the score with a trey as the Purple Knights shot 6-of-7 from beyond the arc to draw a 36-36 halftime tie.

UB broke on top to start the third but Missy Sadler's jumper gave STAC a 44-43 lead but Bridgeport answered as Kyle Felton hit a pair from the line to stake the Purple Knights to a 53-49 advantage entering the final frame. That momentum continued as a pair of Kerr free throws opened the visitors' gaps to 59-51 lead with 7:58 remaining.

After a timeout, the Spartans regrouped and quickly caught fire. Sadler hit a driving layup off a well-run play, Thomas drilled a trey in the next possession, and Sadler scored again to close the deficit to 59-58 with 6:19 left. Sarah Scerbak followed with a three and Sadler struck again as that 12-0 run over a span of 3:12 put St. Thomas Aquinas on top. Kyle Felton scored from in close to tie the score at 63-63 with 2:14 on the clock but STAC would not be stopped, scoring the next 10 points to secure the victory.

Sadler led all scorers with 22 points, Averill came through with 15, Ruth Adams added 14 and Scerbak scored 10 to lead the offense. Felton came off the bench to lead three Purple Knights in double-figures with 18 points.

The Spartans hit the road this Saturday for another ECC double-header, traveling to face the University of the District of Columbia. Double-header action starts at 1:00 pm with the women's game, followed by the men's teams in action. They return to Aquinas Hall to host Mercy College on Saturday, February 1, with another double-header starting at 1:00 pm.