Lady Firebirds Torch Lady Knights 54-40

Laurinburg, NC: January 28, 2008--  Senior guard Ashley Alexander (Washington, DC) regained her old form tonight, coming off the bench to lead the University of the District of Columbia Lady Firebirds to a, 54-40, torching of the St. Andrews Lady Knights in Laurinburg, North Carolina. Alexander posted 16-points and grabbed 8 rebounds in leading UDC to the 14-point win.

The Lady Firebirds improved to 13-5 overall by controlling the boards, 51-41, and scoring 20 second chance points on 20 offensive rebounds. The Lady Knights fell to 5-13 after shooting just 27.1-percent (16-for-59) from the field and 3-for-18 (16.7%) from three-point distance.

UDC jumped out to a 20-8 lead midway through the first half.  Ashley Alexander’s  three-pointer capped the run that gave the Firebirds a 12-point advantage, and continued to hold a 10-point lead (22-12) but St. Andrews finished the open period with a 9-0 run over the final four minutes to pull within one at halftime.
April Johnson, who scored all eight of her points in the first half, tallied four of the Lady Knights’ nine points during the surge to inch SAPC to within one, 22-21, at the intermission.

The Lady Knights held a slim 25-23 rebounding advantage at halftime while holding the Firebirds to just 25.7% shooting including 11.1% from behind the arc. However, UDC still maintained the lead into the locker room behind an 11-0 advantage on second effort points with 10 offensive boards.

After exchanging baskets in the first two minutes of the second half the Firebirds took control of the contest with a 10-2 burst over the next six minutes. A Jones three-pointer with 11:15 left was only the third basket for St. Andrews in the second half.

UDC continued to lead by eight, 38-30, at the midway point of the final stanza before going on another 16-4 run. An old-fashion three-point play by Alexander capped the run to give the Firebirds their largest lead of 20 points (54-34).

Desiree Jones led St. Andrews Presbyterian College with 10 points, six assists, and five rebounds but visiting University of the District of Columbia broke open a close game with a 32-19 second half to pull away to a 54-40 NCAA Division II non-conference women’s basketball victory on Monday night in Harris Court.
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For the second straight period St. Andrews held UDC scoreless in the final four minutes of the half but the deficit was too large and the Firebirds prevailed by 14 points.

UDC dominated the glass in the second half with a 28-16 advantage while shooting much better at 40.6% accuracy. SAPC was held to 23.3% shooting in the final period with just seven made hoops.

Freshman Lillian McGill (Sumter, S.C.) added a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. This was McGill’s 9th double-double of the season. Senior Eniola Bakare (Staten Island, N.Y.) was the third UDC player in double-digits with 10 points. Alexander and Bakare both just missed their own double-doubles with eight and seven rebounds, respectively. Junior Devaughn Hailey (Camden, N.J.) chipped in with seven boards and a game-high three steals.

Jones’ 10 points was good for her sixth straight game in double-digits while her six assists were a game-high. Senior Erika Thompson  added eight points.. Freshman Franchaze Waters  pulled down a season-high eight rebounds to lead the Knights. Senior Jessy Perkins  and freshman Kristin Zipkin also grabbed six boards apiece.

UDC will see action again on February 3, against the Virginia State University Lady Trojans in Petersburg, Virginia.