Wilmington, Del. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team kicked off its holiday break in splendid fashion, taking a 67-59 non-conference road decision from Goldey-Beacom College on Monday afternoon at the Joseph West Jones Center.

STAC's victory puts them over the .500 mark for the first time this season at 6-5. Meanwhile, Goldey-Beacom drops to 1-11 on the year.

Sarah Ericson led the way for the Spartans, recording a team-high 17 points, while teammates Karolina Jaruseviciute (10pts) and Angelique Holguin (10pts) also posted double figures in scoring.

STAC shot 43.1 percent (22-51) from the field, while Goldey-Beacom shot 30.6 percent (15-49) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Erin Leary led the maroon and gold with three assists on the afternoon.
• Angelique Holguin made all five of her field goal attempts, while Karolina Jaruseviciute went 5-for-6 from the floor.
• STAC out-rebounded Goldey-Beacom by a 35-27 margin, with Erin Leary grabbing a game-high seven boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 11 steals, with the Lightning turning the ball over on 18 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in three team statistical categories over Goldey-Beacom: Points in the Paint (32-10), Fastbreak Points (5-0) and Bench Points (26-6).
• The game featured five ties and four lead changes.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• An early STAC foul allowed Goldey-Beacom to score its first points of the game from the foul line, before Angelique Holguin tied things up on a layup to make it 2-2.
• A Bailey Chapman bucket from downtown gave the Spartans their first lead of the game, but it would be quickly answered by a three from the Lightning.
• The action between the sides in the first quarter would resemble a see-saw, with no team taking more than a three-point lead, before the opposition would close the gap and even tie up the game.
• Tied at 11, Goldey-Beacom would score the last points of the stanza on a jump shot with 1:43 left and then keep the maroon and gold off of the scoreboard to take a 13-11 advantage into the second quarter.
• It would only take five seconds into the new frame for the Lightning to expand their lead to five (16-11) on a three-point jumper. However, moments later, Erin Leary would cut the deficit back to just three points by sinking a pair of free throws to make it 16-13.
• A 5-0 run by Goldey-Beacom would balloon their lead to eight, 21-13 with a little over seven minutes to play before halftime. It also caused Head Coach Bill Cleary to call a timeout in order to rally the troops.
• The Spartans then got their chance to answer, going on a 7-0 streak, as Sarah Ericson and Erin Leary would capitalize on three straight possessions to make only a one-point game, 21-20.
• In a half filled with runs, what would be one more, this courtesy of Goldey-Beacom who put up seven consecutive points to expand their lead from one to eight in a two minute and forty five second span to make it 28-20.
• A Sarah Ericson layup, followed by a Kaitlyn Watrobski three-point jumper would be the final points of the opening half, drawing the Spartans ever closer to the Lightning, 28-25 at the break.
• Rory Ciszkowski led all scorers with 15 first half points for Goldey-Beacom, while Sarah Ericson picked up seven points for St. Thomas Aquinas.
• When the teams returned to the hardwood for third quarter action, Erin Leary, and Karolina Jaruseviciute combined to score seven straight points, flipping the scoreboard back in favor of the Spartans, 32-28.
• The host Lightning would draw within one, 32-31, but in the remaining eight minutes of the quarter, Bailey Chapman, Angelique Holguin, Sarah Ericson, Joline Raposo, Trinity Cheatom and Emily Strunk added 14 of 19 points to make it a 46-36 STAC advantage.
• The maroon and gold dominated the third quarter play, scoring 21 of the 29 total points recorded.
• STAC started the final quarter of play, answering back when Goldey-Beacom would score in order to keep the game to double-digits. However, the Lightning would put a little scare in the Spartans, clawing back to make it a five-point game (55-50) with a shade under four minutes left on the clock.
• Needed someone to answer the call down the stretch, Karolina Jaruseviciute and Angelique Holguin would each use the glass to put the ball in the hoop and give the maroon and gold some breathing room at 59-50.
• In the final minute, the ever calm, cool and collected Sarah Ericson sealed the game by hitting eight free throws to counter any final rally from Goldey-Beacom, preserving the eight-point victory, 67-59.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas College returns to action one final time in calendar year 2023, as the Spartans visit East Region foes, Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday, December 30 at 1:30 p.m.