Rockville Centre, N.Y. - Another strong defensive effort by the St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball propelled the maroon and gold to a 71-48 road triumph over Molloy University on Saturday afternoon at Quealy Gymasium.

STAC closes the 2022-23 regular season with a 20-7 overall record and 12-4 mark in ECC play, while Molloy falls to 5-20 and 4-12.

Sarah Ericson led the way for the Spartans, recording a double-double, with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, teammates Erin Leary (14 points) and Alexa Huertas (11 points) also posted double-digit point totals.

STAC shot 42.9 percent from the field (27-63), while Molloy shot 25.5 percent (14-55) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nine Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Sarah Ericson led the maroon and gold with eight assists on the afternoon.
• Ericson made 5 of her 13 field goal attempts, while Erin Leary went 6-for-13 and Alexa Huertas 4-for-8 from the floor.
• Molloy outrebounded STAC 40-39, with Sarah Ericson grabbing a game-high 11 boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 11 steals, with the Lions turning the ball over on 22 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in three team statistical categories over Molloy: Points off Turnovers (23-11), Points in the Paint (16-14) and Bench Points (20-8).
• Strong defensive play by the Spartans kept Molloy to just five points in the first quarter and eight points in the fourth quarter.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• STAC raced out to an 8-0 lead, as Alexa Huertas and Sarah Ericson connected from downtown and Karolina Jaruseviciute hit a pair of free throws.
• After Molloy hit back-to-back baskets for their only points of the quarter, the Spartans closed out the stanza on an 11-0 run. Jaruseviciute, Erin Leary, Huertas, Kaitlyn Watrobski and Trinity Cheatom all capitalized on their offensive opportunities, while the defense held serve to make it a 19-5 lead in favor of STAC through one quarter of play.
• Molloy opened the second quarter five of the first seven points to cut its deficit to 11 at 21-10.
• However the Spartans offense continued to fire on all cylinders, as Sarah Ericson and Alexa Huertas combined to go 3 for 3 from three to make it a 20-point game (30-10) with seven minutes to play before halftime.
• A 10-4 run by Molloy in the rest of the stanza pulled the hosts to within 14 at 34-20, as Joline Raposo and Huertas picked up the only points for the maroon and gold over the final five minutes before the break.
• Alexa Huertas paced the Spartans' offense with 11 first-half points, while Samantha Muller recorded 11 points of her own for the Lions.
• When the teams returned to the hardwood for second-half action, it would be the host Lions who would come out with new found sense of urgency. Despite the Spartans getting shots to fall from Erin Leary, Trinity Cheatom, Karolina Jaruseviciute and Sarah Ericson, Molloy was able to work their way back to just a seven-point deficit on at least two occasions in the third quarter.
• Julia Reggio, Angelique Holguin and the aforementioned Leary and Cheatom provided the maroon and gold response and push the advantage back to double-digits in the late stages of the frame. STAC took a 57-40 lead into the final quarter of play.
• Molloy opened the fourth stanza with six straight points to an 11-point game, 57-46 with eight minutes to play in regulation.
• A free throw from Melissa Alifano, along with buckets from Sarah Ericson and Erin Leary capped a 7-0 run for the Spartans to put them ahead by 18 points, 64-46.
• Two free throws over the final 3:13 of play would close out the Lions scoring on the day. while a Sarah Ericson layup and a pair of Joline Raposo jumpers would give STAC its largest lead of the afternoon (24 points).
• The Spartans suffocating defense held Molloy to a combined 4-for-22 from the field, 1-for-8 from three and 4-of-6 from the foul line in the first and fourth quarters.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas College has earned a bye into the semifinal round of the ECC Women's Basketball Tournament, which will be held at Lumsden Gymnasium in Amherst, N.Y., next Saturday, March 4. Opponents for both top-seeded Daemen and #2 STAC will be determined on Wednesday evening, March 1 via the tournament's first round games.

ECC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

First Round - Wednesday, March 1 (at Higher Seeds)

#3 Mercy College (17-9) vs. #6 Queens College (8-19) - 7:00 p.m.

#4 University of the District of Columbia (15-12) vs. #5 College of Staten Island (10-18) - 5:00 p.m.

Semifinal Round - Saturday, March 4 (at Daemen University)

#1 Daemen University (18-4) vs. Winner of District of Columbia vs. Staten Island - 12:00 p.m.

#2 St. Thomas Aquinas College (20-7) vs. Winner of Mercy/Queens - 3:00 p.m.

Final Round - Sunday, March 5 (at Daemen University)

TBA vs. TBA - 12:00 p.m.

*TICKETS FOR ALL ECC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT GAMES WILL GO ON SALE BEGINNING NEXT WEEK*