Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team (1-0) kicked off their 2022-2023 season and home opener with a 80-56 victory against Saint Michael's College (0-1). 

Sarah Ericson led the way for the Spartans, posting 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Karolina Jaruseviciute (12 points), Erin Leary (12 points), Trinity Cheatom (11 points) and Julia Reggio (10 points) also scored in double-figures.

STAC shot 39.4 percent from the field (28-71) and 25.0 percent from behind the arc (4-16) in the season opener, while St. Michael's shot 33.3 percent (21-63) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nine different players recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Joline Raposo led the Spartans with five assists on the day.
• Erin Leary made 5 of her 10 field goal attempts, while Trinity Cheatom went 5-for-14 from the floor.
• STAC out rebounded St. Michael's 54-35 through 40 minutes of action, with Sarah Ericson (12) posting double-digit boards.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 13 steals in the contest, with the Purple Knights turning the ball over on 22 different occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over St. Michael's: Points off of Turnovers (26-12), Second Chance Points (15-2), Points in the Paint (38-18) and Bench Points (31-9).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The visiting Purple Knights took an early 6-2 lead, forcing Spartans Head Coach Bill Cleary to call a timeout to get his team back on track.
• Back and forth play between the teams saw STAC take a 19-17 advantage with just under a minute to play in the opening quarter.
• Even play continued in the second quarter, but the hosts kept the lead and expanded its margin to eight at 40-32 going into the halftime break.
• Sarah Ericson paced the Spartan offense with 10 points in 20 minutes of action, while Paige Slaven led all scorers with 12 points for St. Michael's.
• Following the intermission, STAC went on a 7-2 run over the first nine minutes of third quarter action, to lead 47-34.
• Another larger run, this time 17-9 closed out the third stanza, giving the Spartans a 21-point advantage (64-43), with 10 minutes left to play.
• In the final quarter, and with the game mostly in check, new faces Joline Raposo, Trinity Cheatom and Megan Fedor saw additional time on the floor, allowing Coach Cleary spread out the minutes among all of his roster in anticipation of the second half of back-to-back contests on Saturday.
• STAC took its largest lead of the game, 24 points (72-48), with just over five and half minutes to play, as the hosts tallied a total of 80 points in the opener.

UP NEXT

St. Thomas Aquinas returns to action on Saturday, November 12, hosting American International College in a 3pm tilt at Aquinas Hall.