Box Score
vs. STAC - February 4, 2012
SPARKILL, N.Y. (Feb. 4,
2012) - Trailing 35-34 over two minutes into the latter
half, St. Thomas Aquinas College rattled off a 24-6 run during an
eight-minute stretch to catapult itself to a 77-65 triumph against
the Molloy College women's basketball team, denying the maroon and
white a third-straight victory, on Saturday at Aquinas Hall in
Sparkill, N.Y. With the result, the Lions fell to an overall clip
of 9-12, and an East Coast Conference mark of 5-6. Meanwhile, the
Spartans now hold a record of 11-10 on the season. They are also
6-5 against league opposition.
During the clinching run for STAC,
junior guard Bianca Kowgios (Yonkers, N.Y.)
amassed 10 points in the run. She posted a game-best 27 points on
10-of-18 shooting in the game. Kowgios also swiped seven steals.
Sophomore guard Sara Oliveira (Portugal) and
freshman forward Ashley Motrechuk (Staten Island,
N.Y.) netted four points apiece. Senior forward
Briana Sloper (Williston Park, N.Y.) and fellow
forward Kimberly Vareles (Mount Sinai, N.Y.)
accounted for two points each.
St. Thomas Aquinas led by as many as
21 points with 7:38 left in regulation off a Motrechuk lay-up. As
for Molloy, it came as near as 12 points at the 1:15 mark via a
three-ball by junior guard Julia Finlay (Hicksville,
N.Y.). Graduate guard Amanda Bartlett (Mesa,
Ariz.) led the Lions offensively with 15 points (4-9 FG,
6-7 FT) on the afternoon. Sophomore center Jessica DeNicola (Massapequa, N.Y.) registered 14 points on
6-of-10 shooting from the field. She also grabbed eight
rebounds.
Knotted 2-2 with under 16 minutes
to go in the first half, STAC, which totaled 36 points off
turnovers, went on a 9-2 run in a period of 2:16 to grab an 11-4
advantage with 13:33 remaining. Kowgios started the streak with
back-to-back jumpers. She had a three-point play to cap it.
After an ensuing six minutes of back-and-forth play, the Spartans
kept their seven-point lead.
Molloy, which trailed 21-14 at that
point, then went on a quick 7-0 burst to tie the game at 21-up with
5:58 to go. Freshman guard/forward Nicole Arnone (Staten
Island, N.Y.) began it with a jay. Finlay followed with a
trifecta. Junior forward Ikema Ross (East Patchogue,
N.Y.) tied the contest with a lay-up. Following more
tumultuous action on the hardwood, the hosts managed to head into
the intermission with a slight 31-30 edge. Kowgios led all scorers
in the stanza with 11 points.
During the second 30-minute portion,
Oliveira knocked down a triple from the wing to commence the
scoring, and extend the hosts' lead to 34-30 with 19:23 to play. A
subsequent lay-up, and three-pointer by Bartlett handed Molloy its
first lead of the game, until a 24-6 rally by St. Thomas Aquinas
secured the win for the Spartans, who also tallied 10 fast break
points.
Head Coach Tim O'Hagan and the Lions
will look to get back on track Wednesday (Feb. 8) when they take on
ECC nemesis University of Bridgeport at Quealy Gymnasium in
Rockville Centre, N.Y. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. In their
first meeting on Jan. 11, the Purple Knights were victorious,
76-68, at Hubbell Gymnasium in Bridgeport, Conn.
