 |
| Telisha Turner (#1) led all scorers with 25 points |
From our friends at UDC Athletics...
Firebirds Tame the Wildcats in 72-60 ECC Victory
The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team shook off the dust from a 15-day layover with a 72-60 East Coast Conference victory vs. Daemen in its first game of 2015 on Saturday afternoon at the UDC Sports Complex.
The Firebirds (10-2, 3-1 ECC) earned their fourth straight win on the back of senior point guard Telisha Turner's (Criminal Justice - Wilmington, DE/Harcum) game-high 25 points and four assists, while senior forward Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering - Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS) notched her 3rd double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds and also added two blocked shots. UDC's tenacious full-court press and half-court defense also produced 13 steals and 25 Daemen turnovers, resulting in 24 points for the Firebirds.
 |
| Denikka Brent (#11) draws a crowd |
Daemen, meanwhile, had its two-game win-streak snapped as the Wildcats fell to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in league play. The conference's newest member traveled nearly 400 miles to the nation's capital from Amherst, NY and led by as many as seven in the first half. Forward Sarah Saba led all Wildcats with 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.
 |
| Iman Scott scored 5 points off the bench |
The first half featured five ties and six lead changes. Raeann Stilwell made her first three, three-point field goal attempts of the game to propel Daemen in front, 22-15, and the Wildcats still led 24-17 as the clock neared the five-minute mark of the opening period. Turner, who led all first half scorers with 14 points, helped turn the momentum as she scored the game's next eight points, which included two three-pointers. Junior forward Iman Scott (Health Education - Hagerstown, MD/North Hagerstown HS) capped the 9-0 UDC run with a free-throw as UDC took a 26-24 lead near the four-minute mark. The lead changed hands twice more, but UDC would have a 32-28 advantage as the two teams headed to the locker rooms for halftime.
 |
| Coach Jay Butler's Firebirds improve to 10-2 |
Following Brent's jumper to start the second half, the Wildcats scored on their next two possessions to pull within two, 34-32; however, UDC answered with a 7-2 run, and extended its lead to 41-34 on a jumper by junior guard Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore (Criminal Justice - Newport News, VA/Denbigh HS) near the 13-minute mark. The Wildcats never got any closer than five the rest of the way, as UDC went on to win comfortably by double-figures. Daemen shot 55-percent from the field in the second half, but turned the ball over 12 times.
 |
| UDC Cheerleading Squad |
The Firebirds will now enter into a three-game ECC road swing, beginning with a January 7th visit to Rockville Centre, NY to take on Molloy. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.
Click here for yesterday's box score.
