Amherst, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team suffered a 71-44 defeat at the hands of Molloy College on Saturday in the semifinal round of the East Coast Conference Tournament at Lumsden Gymasium on the campus of Daemen College in Western New York.

The Spartans close out the 2021-22 season with a 14-15 overall record, while Molloy improves to 17-9 and advances to play top-seeded Daemen College in Sunday's championship final.

Erin Leary paced the STAC offense on the afternoon with 11 points, with Cameron Corbett and Trinity Hudson leading all scorers with 19 points each for Molloy. 

St. Thomas Aquinas shot 27.0 percent from the field (17-63), while Molloy shot 50.8 percent (30-59) from the floor and 47.1 percent from behind the arc (8-17).

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Seven players recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Chanel Brodeur-Muir and Sarah Ericson led the Spartans with three assists each on the afternoon.
• Alexa Huertas made 3 of her 8 field goal attempts, while Karolina Jaruseviciute went 3-for-7 from the floor.
• Molloy out rebounded St. Thomas Aquinas 39-38 in 40 minutes of action, with Sarah Ericson grabbing six boards for the Spartans.
• STAC picked up eight steals in the contest, with the Molloy turning the ball over on 17 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in two team statistical categories over the Lions: Second Chance Points (9-6) and Bench Points (16-6).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Molloy opened the contest on a 5-0 run, which took the clock down to the midpoint of the first quarter.
• Erin Leary broke the seal for the Spartans on a jumper with 4:41 left to play in the stanza to make it 5-2.
• The Lions would close the quarter, outscoring the Spartans 17-5 to take a 22-7 lead through 10 minutes of action.
• In second quarter action, Molloy would continue to put up points, making yet another big run (13-2) and expanding their lead to 35-9 with just over two minutes to go before halftime.
• Molloy would take a comfortable 43-14 advantage to the locker room at the break.
• Erin Leary recorded seven first half points for St. Thomas Aquinas, with Cameron Corbett leading all scorers with 15 points for Molloy.
• The Lions hot shooting continued in the third quarter, with Molloy maintaining leads of 25 plus points throughout the frame and taking a 59-28 advantage into the final 10 minutes of the semifinal contest.
• A rally would not be in the cards for STAC, as the high-tempo offense of Molloy continued to score in the fourth quarter, while its suffocating defensive play made it extremely difficult for any member of the Spartan squad to gain momentum. 
• The Lions largest lead came in the final stanza (32) at 63-21 and the #2 seed would end the gritty, comeback season of the Spartans, 71-44.

2022 EAST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

First Round – Wednesday, March 2 at campus sites
7:00 p.m. - No. 5 Mercy 64 at No. 4 Roberts Wesleyan 70
7:00 p.m. - No. 6 District of Columbia 49 at No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 63

Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 at Daemen
12:00 p.m. - No. 4 Roberts Wesleyan 62 vs. No. 1 Daemen 84
3:00 p.m. - No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 44 vs. No. 2 Molloy 71

Final – Sunday, March 6 at Daemen
12:00 p.m. - #2 Molloy vs. #1 Daemen