Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team continued its march toward the postseason, earning its third straight victory by besting Molloy University, 59-43, on Saturday Afternoon at Aquinas Hall.

STAC improves to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in the ECC, while Molloy falls to 3-15 and 2-7.

Kaitlyn Watrobski led the way for the Spartans, recording 11 points, while Sarah Ericson picked up 11 rebounds.

STAC shot 39.7 percent from the field (23-58), while Molloy shot 27.8 percent (15-54) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Sarah Ericson led the maroon and gold with six assists on the afternoon.
• Kaitlyn Watrobski made four of her seven field goal attempts, with three coming from behind the arc, while Angelique Holguin went 4-for-9 from the floor.
• STAC and Molloy recorded 39 rebounds apiece, with Sarah Ericson grabbing a team-high 11 boards.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up nine steals, with the Lions turning the ball over on 17 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over Molloy: Points off Turnovers (22-10), Second Chance Points (9-8), Points in the Paint (24-12) and Bench Points (21-12).
• The game featured two ties and one lead change.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Molloy opened the contest with five straight points in the first 2:19 of action.
• STAC got on the board via an Angelique Holguin jumper, but the Lions would drain a three to lead 8-2.
• Buckets by Holguin and Erin Leary cut the Spartan deficit to two at 8-6 with five and a half minutes to play in the quarter.
• The teams traded points for the final 3:21 of the stanza, as Molloy held a 15-12 advantage through the first 10 minutes of play.
• Sarah Ericson got the second quater scoring started with a trey to tie things at 15-15, before Karolina Jaruseviciute gave the maroon and gold its first lead of the day on a layup (17-15).
• A 18-2 run by the Spartans, highlighted by a Sarah Ericson circus shot while falling out of bounds, which went through the net with a foul call and back-to-back three pointers by Kaitlyn Watrobski gave STAC a 33-17 lead with two and a half minutes to play before halftime.
• The visiting Lions scored eight of the final 10 points before the break, but St. Thomas Aquinas continued to lead by double-digits, 35-25 as the team retreated to their respective locker rooms.
• Kaitlyn Watrobski led all scorers with eight first-half points for the Spartans, while Samantha Muller paced the Lions offense with six points.
• When the teams returned to the hardwood for the third quarter, it would be a low-scoring stanza, as the sides combined for only 15 total points.
• Buckets by Trinity Cheatom and Sarah Ericson kept the STAC lead at nine, 33-42, as the strong Spartans defense was the story of the frame.
• To begin the final quarter, STAC rattled off seven straight points, courtesy of Alexa Huertas, Trinity Cheatom and Angelique Holguin to expand their margin on the scoreboard to 16, 49-33.
• The Spartans would answer every scoring attempt of the Lions with offense of their own over the final 7:12 of regulation. Erin Leary, Kaitlyn Watrobski and Megan Fedor came up with key baskets down the stretch to maintain the double-digit lead to the final buzzer. 

UP NEXT:

STAC hosts the University of the District of Columbia in key conference matchup at Aquinas Hall on Wednesday, January 25 at 5:30 p.m.