UDC Loses Their Classic Opener

Washington, DC: January 3, 2008--After waiting through two games, and four overtimes, the UDC Lady Firebirds finally took the court for their game against the St. Augustine's Lady Falcons.  In the second game of the 2008 UDC New Year’s Classic, the Lady Firebirds looked to continue the success they achieved before the end of 2007.  The winter break proved to provide a little bit of rust, as the Lady Firebirds fell 67-65 to the Lady Falcons of St. Augustine's College. 

UDC was led by Lillian McGill, once again.  The freshman is continuing to pay big dividends.  This marked her fourth straight double double game of the season, as she scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.  Devaughn Hailey scored 11 points while Ashley Alexander scored 10 points.  St. Augustine was led by Allison Sikes.  The freshman guard scored 15 points while grabbing a game high 19 rebounds.  Whitney Griffis and LeKiesha White added 14 and 11 points respectively. 

The Lady Firebirds led at halftime, 35-31, largely because of their hot shooting.  UDC shot 54% from the field during the first half, while holding St. Augustine to 44%.  Both teams found scoring to be a challenge in the second half.  Despite this, UDC still found a way to extend the lead to nine, 53-44, with 11:53 left in the game. 

Here is where St. Augustine began to make a comeback.  A 10-1 run tied the game at 54 with 6:44 remaining in the game.  UDC tried to keep its lead, but St. Augustine was able to take their first lead of the second half, 58-57, with 3:25 remaining.  The Lady Falcons continued to surge, pushing the lead to five, 65-60 with 1:40 left.  UDC attempted to make a run, closing to within two with 13 seconds left.  The Lady Firebirds had time for one more shot, but a jumper by Jessica Edwards missed off of the side of the backboard.  That allowed St. Augustine to survive despite shooting 36% for the game and turning the ball over 15 times. 

Despite the loss, UDC still has a winning record, at 7-4.  Their next game is at home against Davis & Elkins on Monday at 5:30 P.M.