Buffalo, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team outscored D'Youville University by a 43-15 margin in the second half to rally for a 68-49 victory on Sunday afternoon at the College Center Gym in downtown Buffalo.

STAC snaps its two-game losing streak, and improves to 18-7 overall and 10-4 in ECC play. Meanwhile, D'Youville falls to 10-13 and 8-7.

Erin Leary led the way for the Spartans, recording a double-double, with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Teammates Trinity Cheatom (17 points) and Alexa Huertas (15 points) also posted double-digit point totals.

STAC shot 35.7 percent from the field (20-56), while D'Youville shot 29.1 percent (16-55) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Sarah Ericson led the maroon and gold with five assists on the afternoon.
• Erin Leary made 6 of her 10 field goal attempts, while Alexa Huertas went 5-for-15 and Trinity Cleatom 5-for-13 from the floor.
• D'Youville outrebounded STAC 42-39, with Erin Leary grabbing a team-high 11 boards and Karolina Jaruseviciute pulling down 10 rebounds for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up five steals, with the Saints turning the ball over on 14 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in four team statistical categories over D'Youville: Points off Turnovers (11-4), Second Chance Points (13-10), Fastbreak Points (8-4) and Bench Points (17-5).
• The game featured five ties and five lead changes.
• Strong defensive play by the Spartans kept D'Youville to just 15 total points in the second half.
• STAC (18-7, 10-4 ECC) leapfrogs Mercy College in the ECC standings, now holding the #2 seed in the upcoming postseason tournament. Mercy (15-9, 9-5 ECC) dropped their Sunday afternoon road matchup with Daemen University (17-4, 12-3 ECC), 69-59. STAC Remaining Games: Queens (Home) & Molloy (Road) | Mercy Remaining Games: Molloy (Home) & Queens (Road).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Back and forth action between the sides kept the game even for the first 4:50 seconds of the opening quarter. Alexa Huertas, Sarah Ericson and Trinity Cheatom got in on the early scoring to make it 7-7.
• A Cheatom free throw put STAC up by one (8-7), but D'Youville was able to quickly respond and put themselves up 12-8.
• The final points of the stanza came via Melissa Alifano's layup, which cut the deficit to two, before the host Saints scored off of an offensive rebound to increase the lead back to four, at 14-10.
• Alexa Huertas opened the second quarter, scoring six of the first eight points on a pair of threes to tie the game at 16 all.
• D'Youville put together a 9-3 run to go ahead 25-19 with 5:35 to play before halftime.
• Despite the Saints being able to score points of their own, Karolina Jaruseviciute kept the Spartans close on the scoreboard by knocking down four free throws and sending a layup off of the glass and through the net to only trail by four, 29-25.
• However, D'Youville would tally the half's final five points to take a nine-point advantage (34-25) into the locker room at the break.
• Alexa Huertas paced the Spartans offense with nine first-half points, while Stella Mollica led all scorers with 12 points for the Saints.
• When the teams returned to the hardwood following the intermission, it would be tenacious team defense and the hot shooting hand of Erin Leary that would dictate the terms of the second half.
• An 11-2 run by STAC over the first four minutes of the third frame evened the score at 36-36. Alexa Huertas, the aforementioned Leary, Trinity Cheatom, and Karolina Jaruseviciute all connected on buckets as the maroon and gold offense carved up the Saints defense.
• See-saw action ensued for the remainder of the quarter, with Erin Leary and Trinity Cheatom countering D'Youville's pushback by flipping the scoreboard back in their favor every time the hosts would score. The Spartans took a three-point margin, 46-43 into the fourth quarter.
• D'Youville led off the final frame by cutting their deficit to one (46-45), but it was quickly answered by another Leary bucket.
• Julia Reggio, Leary, Trinity Cheatom and Alexa Huertas contributed to a huge 15-0 run, which blew the game open for the Spartans and gave them a 63-48 lead with 1:19 left to play.
• Joline Raposo sealed the victory for the maroon and gold by hitting five-of-six free throws down the stretch to give STAC the 19-point triumph.

UP NEXT: 

After five straight on the road, STAC returns to Aquinas Hall for its final home contest of the 2023 Regular Season, facing off with Queens College on Wednesday, February 22 at 5:30 p.m. Senior Night festivities honoring Alexa Huertas and Melissa Alifano will take place prior to the contest between the Spartans and Knights.