The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team captured a 57-55 victory over Molloy College in an East Coast Conference battle at Aquinas Hall. With the win, STAC snapped a season-opening three-game skid to improve to 1-3, 1-0, with the Lions coming up short in their season-opener.

STAC jumped to an early 7-2 lead on a Katie Bischoping three-pointer, but Lee Safiyyah's three capped a 12-4 answer for Molloy for a narrow 14-11 advantage. After nearly four minutes without a point, the Spartans drew even on a three from ECC Rookie of the Week Julia Reggio to tie the score after one and give the hosts momentum they would carry into the next quarter.

Kaitlyn Watrobski hit a deep two-pointer followed by a three in successive trips and the hosts held the Lions without a field goal over the last 8:23 of the quarter as a 14-0 run paced the Spartans to a 35-20 halftime cushion. Molloy answered with the first 12 points of the third over a 4:13 span to get right back in the affair, but the young STAC team showed great poise in answering with a 7-0 run to extend the margin to 42-32.

Once again the Lions clawed back, tying the score at 55-55 with 2:36 remaining in regulation on a Cameron Corbett lay-up, but the teams traded misses from their until Angie Holguin calmly sank a pair from the line with 55 seconds left to provide the final margin. Victoria Kurisko - who hit five big consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter - tied with Watrobski with a team-high 11 points, with Holguin adding 10 off the bench. Gabriella Aspuru set the pace for the Lions with a game-high 12 points.

On the upcoming schedule, please note that the game scheduled for Sunday, February 7 at Mercy has been postponed but the teams will meet as scheduled on Wednesday, February 10 at Victory Hall. The Spartans return to Aquinas Hall for a weekend pair against Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday and Sunday, February 13 and 14, with both games set for a 2:00 pm tip.