Buffalo, N.Y. - Junior forward Erin Leary became the 24th member of the prestigious St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball 1,000-Point Club on Sunday afternoon, as the Spartans closed its two-game Western New York road trip with a 64-49 triumph over D'Youville University at the College Center Gym.

STAC improves to 15-10 overall and 9-4 in ECC play, while D'Youville falls to 9-16 and 7-7 on the year. The victory, combined with a Daemen loss to Mercy University (50-44), now puts both the Spartans and Mavericks just one game behind the Wildcats in the standings. St. Thomas Aquinas currently holds the second place tiebreaker over Mercy with a victory earlier in the year. The teams will faceoff again in the regular season finale on Saturday, March 2 in Dobbs Ferry.

Erin Leary led the way for the Spartans, recording a game-high 19 points, along with 11 rebounds, while teammate Sarah Ericson also posted double figures in both scoring (18 points) and rebounds (11). In addition, Leary becomes the second member of the women's basketball program to hit the 1,000-point mark this season (Sarah Ericson - January 31, 2024 at Molloy University).

STAC shot 43.3 percent (26-60) from the field, while D'Youville shot 33.9 percent (21-62) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Six Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the non-conference contest. 
• Sarah Ericson led the maroon and gold with four assists on the afternoon.
• Leary hit 8 of her 16 field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Sarah Ericson went 7-of-9 from the floor, with four shots falling from distance.
• STAC out-rebounded D'Youville by a 47-33 margin, with both Erin Leary and Sarah Ericson grabbing a game-high 11 boards apiece for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up nine steals, with the Saints turning the ball over on 13 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in two team statistical categories over D'Youville: Second Chance Points (16-9) and Fastbreak Points (6-2).
• The game featured two ties and four lead changes.
• STAC's largest lead of the contest came came with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter, when Spartans led by 19 points, 47-28 on an Angelique Holguin made jump shot.
• Erin hit and passed the 1,000-point mark on a three-point jumper with 8:37 remaining in the second quarter.
• St. Thomas Aquinas held a 33-22 advantage going into the halftime locker room.
• Leary led all scorers with eight first half points for the Spartans
• STAC's had it's best shooting quarter in the third, going 7-for-14 (50.0 percent) from the field and 2-of-4 (50.0 percent) from downtown.

D'YOUVILLE NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nine Saints logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Anna Jankovic led D'Youville with 13 points.
• Stella Mollica led DYU with a game-high 10 assists on the afternoon.
• Anna Jankovic went 6-for-19 from the floor, while Jaelyn Vleer-Elliott hit 4 of her 5 shots from the field.
• Vleer-Elliott grabbed a team-high seven boards for the Saints.
• D'Youville picked up eight steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 19 separate occasions.
• The Saints earned advantages in three team statistical categories over St. Thomas Aquinas: Points off Turnovers (19-13), Points in the Paint (28-24) and Bench Points (15-8).
• D'Youville had its largest lead of the game (three points) in the waning moments of the first quarter at 10-7.
• Jaelyn Vleer-Elliott led the Saints with six points in the opening half.
• The teams combined for 20 total foul calls (DYU 11/STAC 9) with the Saints shooting seven free throws and the Spartans four.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas College hosts Molloy University in a Wednesday night ECC showdown at Aquinas Hall on February 21. The Spartans and Lions will tip things off beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Sparkill, N.Y.