Staten Island, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team used strong defensive play on Saturday afternoon to win its fifth straight contest, a 70-46 decision over the College of Staten Island, at the CSI Sports and Recreation Center.

STAC improves to 16-5 overall and 8-2 in the ECC, while CSI falls to 7-13 and 3-7.

Sarah Ericson led the way for the Spartans, recording 18 points and 12 rebounds, while teammates Alexa Huertas (12 points), Erin Leary (10 points) and Julia Reggio (10 points) also recorded double-digit point totals.

STAC shot 40.7 percent from the field (24-59), while CSI shot 22.6 percent (14-62) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Seven Spartans recorded double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Trinity Cheatom led the maroon and gold with three assists on the afternoon.
• Sarah Ericson made 6 of her 12 field goal attempts, while Alexa Huertas went 5-for-11 from the floor.
• STAC out rebounded CSI 41-35, with Ericson grabbing a team-high 12 boards.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up 11 steals, with the Dolphins turning the ball over on 21 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in three team statistical categories over Staten Island: Points off Turnovers (17-12), Points in the Paint (24-12) and Fastbreak Points (4-0).
• The game featured five ties and two lead changes.
• Strong defensive play by all 12 Spartans kept Staten Island to just eight points in the second quarter and only four points in the third quarter.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Right off the opening tip, Alexa Huertas's jumper sailed through the net to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead.
• CSI rattled off five straight points to take a three-point advantage (5-2).
• The teams battled back and forth, matching each other shot for shot, with STAC trailing and then tying the contest on several occasions. Erin Leary, Trinity Cheatom, Alexa Huertas, Sarah Ericson and Karolina Jaruseviciute provided the offense in the stanza.
• A Dolphins basket right before the buzzer put them up 17-15 through the first 10 minutes of action.
• Two early CSI free throws to start the second quarter gave the hosts a four-point advantage (19-15).
• However, that lead would be short-lived, as STAC Head Coach Bill Cleary would call upon Megan Fedor to come off the bench and provide some much needed energy. Fedor did just that, scoring four straight points on back-to-back layups to tie the game at 19-19 with 4:42 to play before halftime.
• Staten Island would regain the lead (22-19), before the Spartans went on a 13-3 run over the final 3:21 of the frame, and capped by a huge Sarah Ericson trey just before the halftime buzzer to give the maroon and gold a 32-25 advantage at the intermission.
• Trinity Cheatom led all scorers with nine first-half points for the Spartans, while Jenalyse Alarcon, Noemia Massingue, Dana Phelan, Ashley Lambert and Gia Esposito paced the Dolphins with four points apiece.
• When the teams returned to the hardwood for the second half, STAC would get a free throw by Sarah Ericson, before a CSI three cut their deficit to five (33-28).
• The hot hand of Julia Reggio would take over for the next two minutes, as she converted on two layups and a pair of free throws for six consecutive points, which pushed the Spartans lead back to 11 at 39-28.
• Foul shots would be the story in the final two minutes of the third quarter, as Karolina Jaruseviciute, Erin Leary and Sarah Ericson combined to go 6-for-6 at the charity stripe, including two technical free throws.
• Julia Reggio closed out her outstanding quarter with another layup in the waning seconds of the stanza to give her team a 20-point lead, 49-29.
• As happened in the men's contest earlier in the day, a three-point barage by the Spartans sealed control of the contest. Alexa Huertas, Sarah Ericson and Erin Leary rained threes upon the Dolphins in the fourth quarter, with Julia Reggio and Karolina Jaruseviciute also helping to drop the hammer with buckets of their own to give the maroon and gold its largest lead of the game (26 points), 70-44 and eventually the 24-point victory.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas College heads to Rochester for another ECC matchup, this time with Roberts Wesleyan University, on Wednesday, February 1. Tip-off between the Spartans and Redhawks is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Voller Athletic Center.