Amherst, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team saw its 2024 postseason run come to a close on Saturday afternoon, as Mercy College rallied back from a 19-point first half deficit to advance to the ECC Tournament Final with a 59-48 victory over the Spartans in the semifinal round at Lumsden Gymnasium on the campus of Daemen University.

STAC closes out its 2023-2024 campaign at 18-12 and 11-5 in league play. Meanwhile, #2 Mercy improves to 20-8 overall and will face #1 seed Daemen University in the East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Final on Sunday afternoon (12:00 p.m.) in Amherst. Daemen defeated #4 University of the District of Columbia, 69-66 in the other semifinal matchup.

Erin Leary led the way for St. Thomas Aquinas with a team-high 16 points, while teammate Karolina Jaruseviciute (11 points) also posted double figures in scoring.

STAC shot 30.0 percent (18-60) from the field, while Mercy shot 42.6 percent (20-47) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Six Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest.
• Erin Leary and Trinity Cheatom led the maroon and gold with three assists apiece on the afternoon.
• Leary hit 5 of her 21 field goal attempts, and went 5-for-6 at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Karolina Jaruseviciute went 5-for-7 from the floor.
• STAC out-rebounded Mercy by a 38-33 margin, with Erin Leary grabbing a game-high 10 boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up three steals, with the Mavericks turning the ball over on 17 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over Mercy: Points off Turnovers (15-12), Second Chance Points (7-2), Points in the Paint (28-18) and Fastbreak Points (7-2).
• The game featured one tie and one lead change.
• STAC's largest lead of the contest came with 8:32 remaining in the second quarter, when Spartans led by 19 points, 23-4 on an Erin Leary made layup.
• The Spartans took a 26-16 lead over the Mavericks into their halftime locker room.
• Erin Leary led all scorers with 11 first half points for the Spartans.
• STAC's best shooting quarter came in the fourth, as the maroon and gold shot 50.0 percent (7-for-14).
• The Spartans suffered a power outage from beyond the arc on Saturday, shooting only 4.8 percent (1-for-21).

MERCY NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Seven Mavericks logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Jaclyn Stanavich led Mercy with a game-high 25 points, while teammate Katie Wall (15 points) also scored in double digits.
• Wall and Angelina Barrera led Mercy with two assists on the day.
• Stanavich went 10-for-18 from the floor, with Wall hitting 5 of her 14 field goal attempts. The pair combined to go 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
• Katie Wall also grabbed a team-high eight boards for the Mavericks.
• Mercy picked up 10 steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 17 separate occasions.
• Jaclyn Stanavich led Mercy with eight points in the opening half.
• Mercy's largest lead of the game came in the final seconds of the fourth quarter on a Jaclyn Stanavich made layup, which put the Mavericks up 11, 57-46.
• The Mavericks closed the game with its best shooting quarter of the day, hitting 10-of-14 field goals for a 71.4 percent clip.
• Trailing the Spartans 21-4 through the first 10 minutes of action, Mercy outscored STAC 55-27 in the remaining 30 minutes of the contest.