St. Thomas Aquinas Rallies In Second Half To Nip Women's Basketball, 57-55

Sparkill, N.Y.-The University of Bridgeport women's basketball team saw a 10-point lead , 39-29, with 13:44 to play in the second half  slip away, as the host St. Thomas Aquinas Lady Spartans rallied to post a 57-55 East Coast Conference win on Wednesday night.  With the defeat, Bridgeport is now 5-13 overall and 3-5 in conference play.  The Lady Spartans are now 9-9 overall and 4-4 in league action.

STAC rallied to take a 49-47 lead with 3:09 to play on a lay-up by Briana Cook, but UB came back to take a 50-49 lead on a three-point shot by senior Elinor Avny (Raanaana, Israel) with 2:56 to play, but that was the last lead the Purple Knights would have on the night, as STAC closed the game with an 8-5 advantage.

Senior Edna Marant (Philadelphia, Pa.) led Bridgeport with 19 points, and she was joined in double figures by Avny who netted 11 points and had seven rebounds.  Junior Tanisha Carter (East Hartford, Conn.) led the Purple Knights on the glass with eight boards.

STAC's Briana Sloper, who hit a three-point shot with 2:43 to play to give her team a 52-50 lead which they never relinquished, led all scorers in the contest and was her team's only player in double-digit scoring with 28 points.

The Bridgeport women are back in action on Saturday action afternoon when they will look to snap a three-game losing streak at Mercy College.  Game time in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. is set for 1:00 p.m.