Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team erased a nine-point halftime deficit to D'Youville University on Wednesday evening to advance to the Semifinal Round of the East Coast Conference Tournament with a 62-52 victory over the visiting Saints in First Round action at Aquinas Hall Gymnasium.

STAC improves to 18-11 on the season, while D'Youville wraps its 2023-24 campaign at 9-18.

Erin Leary led the way for the Spartans, recording a game-high 28 points, while teammate Sarah Ericson (13 points) also posted double figures in scoring.

STAC shot 30.5 percent (18-59) from the field, while D'Youville shot 36.8 percent (21-57) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Six Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Sarah Ericson led the maroon and gold with three assists on the evening.
• Leary hit 6 of her 15 field goal attempts, with five shots going in from beyond the arc. She also went 11-of-12 from the foul line. Meanwhile, Sarah Ericson went 4-of-14 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
• D'Youville out-rebounded STAC by a 43-35 margin, with Sarah Ericson grabbing a team-high 10 boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up eight steals, with the Saints turning the ball over on 17 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned one advantage in the team statistical categories over D'Youville: Points off Turnovers (16-5).
• The game featured one tie and three lead changes.
• STAC's largest lead of the contest came in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, when Spartans led by 10 points, 62-52 on a Sarah Ericson made free throw.
• St. Thomas Aquinas trailed D'Youville 24-15 at halftime.
• Erin Leary led the Spartans with five first half points.
• STAC had it's best shooting quarter in the third, going 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) from the field, 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from downtown and 4-for-4 (100.0 percent) from the free throw line.
• The Spartans offense outscored the Saints 47-28 over the final two quarters of the postseason game.

D'YOUVILLE NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Saints logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Mercy Lasu led D'Youville with 13 points, while Brianne Moxley (10pts) also scored in double figures.
• Stella Mollica led DYU with a game-high seven assists on the night.
• Lasu went 8-for-12 from the floor, while Moxley hit 4 of her 15 shots from the field.
• Mercy Lasu grabbed a game-high 12 boards for the Saints.
• D'Youville picked up three steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on eight separate occasions.
• The Saints earned advantages in three team statistical categories over St. Thomas Aquinas: Second Chance Points (9-6), Points in the Paint (26-18) and Bench Points (23-6).
• D'Youville had its largest lead of the game (12 points) with 4:27 to play in the second quarter at 21-9.
• Mercy Lasu led all scorers with eight points for the Saints in the opening half.
• D'Youville's offense opened the contest red-hot, shooting 60.0 percent (6-for-10) from the field.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas now heads to Amherst, New York for the remainder of the East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, as #3 STAC takes on #2 Mercy on Saturday, March 9 (2:30 p.m.) at Lumsden Gymnasium on the campus of top seed and hosts Daemen University. The Spartans and Mavericks split their regular season series with each team taking a game on their own home court.

2024 EAST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

First Round – Wednesday, March 6 at campus sites
6:30 p.m. - No. 6 D'Youville 52 at No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 62
7:00 p.m. - No. 5 Staten Island 67 at No. 4 District of Columbia 70

Semifinals – Saturday, March 9 at Daemen
12:00 p.m. - No. 4 District of Columbia vs. No. 1 Daemen
2:30 p.m. - No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. No. 2 Mercy

Final – Sunday, March 10 at Daemen
12:00 p.m. - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner