Shaking Off the Rust

Washington, DC:January 3, 2008--In their second game of 2008, the UDC Lady Firebirds overcame a sluggish start to defeat the St. Paul's Lady Tigers, 62-46 at the Physical Activities Center.  The Lady Firebirds were led by Devaughn Hailey.  The guard scored 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting.  Ashley Alexander added nine points while handing out four assists. 
 
UDC started out slowly and St. Paul's took full advantage.  The Lady Tigers used UDC’s early turnovers to build an eight point lead with 9:38 remaining in the first half.  UDC started to chip away at the lead, cutting it to two, 20-18 with 4:18 in the first.  Once Hailey nailed a three to give UDC its first lead, the Lady Firebirds never let up.  They finished the half on an 8-2 run to lead 29-22 at the break.  Both teams shot well in the first half with UDC shooting 43% (12-28) and St. Paul hitting on 40% (10-25) of their shots. 
 
The second half started the way the first ended, with UDC making a run.  This time the run ended with the Lady Firebirds having firm control of the game.  The lead stayed in double digits with the largest lead being 18 for the Lady Firebirds.  The defensive intensity for UDC was raised, and this forced St. Paul's into a shooting percentage of 33% (7-21) for the second half.  That included shooting 0 for 6 from behind the three point line.  St. Paul's also turned the ball over 28 times, which only added to the difficulty of the game.
 
Now UDC can rest for a couple of days, before another home game.  The Lady Firebirds will face Davis & Elkins College, Monday at 5:30 P.M. in the Physical Activities Center.