Rochester, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team outscored Roberts Wesleyan University by a 48-18 margin in the second half to pick up their sixth straight victory, a 78-44 rout of the Redhawks, on Wednesday Evening at the Voller Athletic Center.

STAC moves to 17-5 overall and 9-2 within the ECC, while Roberts Wesleyan drops to 3-14 and 2-8.

Angelique Holguin and Trinity Cheatom led the way for the Spartans, recording 16 points apiece, while teammates Alexa Huertas (13 points), Karolina Jaruseviciute (10 points) and Julia Reggio (10 points) also recorded double-digit point totals.

STAC shot 44.9 percent from the field (31-69), while Roberts Wesleyan shot 28.3 percent (15-53) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Karolina Jaruseviciute led the maroon and gold with five assists on the evening.
• Angelique Holguin made 7 of her 10 field goal attempts, while Trinity went 7-for-15 from the floor.
• STAC out rebounded Roberts Wesleyan 49-31, with Sarah Ericson grabbing a game-high 14 boards.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up six steals, with the Redhawks turning the ball over on 15 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in five team statistical categories over Roberts Wesleyan: Points off Turnovers (20-5), Second Chance Points (14-0), Points in the Paint (36-12), Fastbreak Points (6-5) and Bench Points (22-19).
• The game featured one tie and one lead change.
• Strong defensive play by all eight Spartans kept Roberts Wesleyan to just eight points in both the first and fourth quarters.
• Head Coach Bill Cleary picked up his 300th career win on Wednesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• An early 4-0 lead by Roberts Wesleyan was quickly melted away by 11 straight Spartan points. Trinity Cheatom, Angelique Holguin, Erin Leary, Karolina Jaruseviciute and Alexa Huertas all contributed to the scoring rally to make it 11-4 with a shade under four minutes to play in the opening quarter.
• STAC closed the stanza with six of the final 10 points to hold a nine-point advantage (17-8) through 10 minutes of action.
• A 7-0 run to open the second quarter extending the Spartans advantage to 24-8 with 5:41 to play before halftime. Alexa Huertas and Angelique Holguin were once again the catalysts powering the maroon and gold offense.
• The Spartans built a 10-point lead (30-20), before a pair of Redhawks threes cut margin to just four (30-26) at the break. 
• Trinity Cheatom and Angelique Holguin paced the Spartans offense with eight first-half points each, while Danielle DiCintio led all scorers with nine points for the Redhawks.
• When the teams returned to the hardwood for third quarter action, the STAC offense went on the attack with a 19-2 run to extend the lead to 49-28. Sarah Ericson, Angelique Holguin, Alexa Huertas, Julia Reggio, Karolina Jaruseviciute and Trinity Cheatom all pushed the pace of play and could not miss on their shot attempts.
• Holguin and Reggio closed the Spartan scoring in the stanza, with the maroon and gold only allowing 10 total points in the frame, to make it a 54-36 game.
• In the final quarter, STAC continued to drop the hammer on their hosts, outscoring them 24-8 in the stanza. Trinity Cheatom, Karolina Jaruseviciute, Alexa Huertas, Angelique Holguin, Julia Reggio continued to overwhelm the Roberts Wesleyan defense.
• Meanwhile, the aforementioned Spartans along with Sarah Ericson, Erin Leary and Melissa Alifano played suffocating defense to shutdown and frustrate the Redhawks until the final buzzer.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas College heads across the Governor Mario M. Cuomo bridge for an ECC showdown with Mercy College on Wednesday, February 8. Tip-off between the Spartans and Mavericks is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at Victory Gymnasium in Dobbs Ferry.