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| Milena Bubnjevic (#5) led UDC with 18 points & 8 rebounds |
From our friends at UDC Athletics...
Firebirds Continue to Soar in Third Straight Win Over Daemen
The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team used a complete team effort to earn its third straight victory, 91-73 over East Coast Conference newcomer, Daemen College on Friday night in the nation's capital.
The Firebirds have now won nine of their last 10 games, including their last three, as they improved to 17-4 overall and tied LIU Post for 1st place in the ECC standings with a league record of 13-2. The Firebirds' last three wins have come by an average of 23.0 points. Daemen has now lost five of its last six and fell to 7-17 overall and 4-14 in league play.
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| The Firebirds show off their new pre-game intro |
More than half of UDC's scoring came from its bench players tonight, led by a season-high 18 points (also eight rebounds) by senior transfer center Milena Bubnjevic (Criminal Justice – Leskovac, Serbia/Longwood). Senior guard Snezana Blagojevic (Business Management – Kragujevac, Serbia/Shepherd) also came off the bench to tie her season-high of eight points and grab a career-high five rebounds.
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| Denikka Brent added 16 points & 8 rebounds |
Junior starting forward Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering – Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS) helped the Firebirds get off to a good start, scoring 10 points in the first half and finishing with 16 and eight rebounds for the game. Also, starting senior point guard Teara Shaw (Health Education – Bronx, NY/Indian River State) made up for an 0-for-5 shooting night with a season-high tying eight assists, five rebounds and game-high four steals.
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| Teara Shaw (#10) led UDC with 8 assists & 4 steals |
The Wildcats were led by guard Lindsay Stoddard, who finished with game-highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds to go with seven assists and two steals. Stoddard shot 8-of-11 from the field (4-of-5 from long range) and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Her backcourt mate Raeann Stilwell also knocked down four three-pointers and finished with 14 points. Forward Natalie Galus added 14 points and six rebounds.
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| Telisha Turner (#1) scored 11 points in just 21 minutes |
Both teams traded baskets early, but with the score tied at 5-all, a layup by Brent ignited a resounding 23-5 run over the next nine minutes as the Firebirds opened up a commanding, 28-10 lead. That run featured one three-pointer apiece by junior transfer guards ShaKena Williams (Accounting – Washington, DC/Frederick CC) and Telisha Turner (Criminal Justice – Wilmington, DE/Harcum) and Bubnjevic. Consecutive jumpers by Daemen's Jillian Fitzner helped the Wildcats claw back within 14, but five straight points by Blagojevic kicked off another Firebird surge – this one a 21-7 burst, which widened the gap to a game-high 28-point differential, 49-21. Daemen scored the final five points of the half to make it 49-26 at intermission.
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| Shantrel Oliver (#15) scored 5 points off the bench |
Stilwell would come out on fire in the second half, making three consecutive three-pointers in a row, and suddenly, with another three-pointer from Leah McDonell, Daemen had closed the 23-point halftime deficit to 15 less than four minutes into the closing period. That was as close as the Wildcats would come though, as UDC maintained a lead between 16-24 points for the remainder of the game, ultimately winning by a comfortable 18-point margin.
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| Snezana Blagojevic (#4) scored 8 points with 5 rebounds |
The Firebirds had a distinct rebounding advantage, winning the battle of the boards, 46-33 and out-scoring their guests 40-14 in the paint and 14-5 in second-chance points. UDC also showed its superior depth tonight as its bench out-scored Daemen's, 52-11.
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| Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore (#22) had 5 rebounds & 3 steals |
Next up, the Firebirds will look to even the season series with ECC foe Roberts Wesleyan on Sunday, February 16th at 3 p.m. UDC will look to stay unbeaten at home in conference play while avenging a 78-74 loss in Rochester back on January 10th.
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| 5 points & 2 steals for Myla Somerville (#2) |
Click here for last night's box score.
