UDC Lady Firebirds Regain Footing, Defeat St. Augustine's Lady Falcons 67-59

Raleigh, NC: January 26, 2008—Led by junior guard Devaughn Hailey (Camden,NJ), the University of the District of Columbia Lady Firebirds regained their footing this afternoon and avenged an earlier loss to the St. Augustine’s Lady Falcons by defeating them, 67-59, today at the Emery Gymnasium. Using behind the arc, 3-point, 44% shooting (10 for 23), and Hailey’s 19 -point performance, the Lady Firebirds led most of the game and took the victory back to Washington, improving their season record to 12-5.

St. Augustine’s opened the game by scoring 4 quick points before UDC’s sophomore guard Nicole Cooper (Ft. Washington, MD) drained a 3-pointer to make the score 4-3, followed by a steal by sophomore guard Tiffany Church (Norfolk, VA) to give the Lady Firebirds the lead at the 17:49 mark. The score was tied three times in the half before UDC took a 33-29 lead into the break.

Following a Hailey turnover, St. Augustine’s LeKiesha White hit a 3-pointer to open the second half scoring. UDC came back increasing the lead by as many as 18 points and went on to win the game 67-59 on 40 % (21 for 52) shooting, 10 for 23 (44 percent) 3-point shooting , and 47 %  (15 for 32) free-throw shooting.

Four Lady Firebirds were in double figures including Hailey, Church with 12 points, Cooper 11, and freshman forward Lillian McGill (Sumter, SC) with an 11-point, and 11-rebound double-double performance. This was McGill’s 8th double-double of the season.

Whitney Griffis led the Lady Falcon scoring with 19 points, followed by Kelly Bural with 10 points. They were the only St. Augustine’s players in double figures. With this loss, St. Augustine’s dropped to 12-6 for the season.

UDC returns to the hard court on January 28, against St. Andrews Presbyterian in Laurinburg, North Carolina