SPARKILL, N.Y. – Freshman Jenna Erickson (Melrose, N.Y.) scored 17 of her 23 points in the first half to lead St. Thomas Aquinas College to a 70-57 victory over Daemen College here tonight in women's basketball action.
Daemen saw its three-game winning streak come to an end and dropped to 6-6 overall and 3-3 in the East Coast Conference. STAC snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 7-9 overall and 3-4 in the league.
Junior Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) went 3-for-5 from three-point land and totaled 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals for Daemen. Senior Shy Britton (Rochester, N.Y./Niagara University) added 13 points, while sophomore Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) added seven points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) chipped in eight points, five assists and three steals.
Daemen held an 11-2 lead five minutes into the game, before the host Spartans got back into the game with a 12-5 run. Erickson scored eight points during the run and her three-pointer with 10:20 left in the first half capped the run and cut the Daemen lead to two points, 16-14. Neither team scored for the next three minutes and Daemen held a 17-14 lead when the Spartans put together a 10-1 run that gave the hosts a 24-18 lead. Daemen cut the lead to two points following back-to-back buckets by Stilwell and freshman Liz Miles (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse), but the Spartans outscored the Wildcats 12-6 over the final 2:35 of the half and the hosts took a 36-28 lead into the break.
The teams traded baskets for the first seven minutes of the second half and STAC held a 48-40 lead when a layup by sophomore Kaitlyn McCue (Bergenfield, N.J.) sparked the Spartans on a 9-3 run. A three-pointer by senior Sabrina Eggink (Red Hook, N.Y.) with 9:28 left capped the run and gave the hosts a 57-43 lead. Daemen cut the lead in half with a 7-0 burst, but the hosts later regained a 12-point lead, 64-52, following a three-point play by freshman Adiya Henderson (Troy, N.Y.) with just over three minutes left. Daemen came no closer than nine points down the stretch.
Foul trouble was an issue for the Wildcats, as Britton, Galus and freshman Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) all picked up their fourth personal foul within the first six minutes of the second half. Britton played just 10 minutes in the second half, while Galus played just 12 minutes. Saba, who entered the game averaging 12.5 points and 6.9 rebounds, played just eight minutes in the second half and totaled just two points before fouling out.
Turnovers also hurt the Wildcats, as Daemen turned the ball over 33 times (compared to just 16 for STAC) and the Spartans posted a 26-17 advantage in points off turnovers.
Daemen returns to action tomorrow (Jan. 17) when it plays an ECC game at Mercy College.
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