UDC Women's Basketball Team in Top 25

The University of the District of Columbia Firebirds Women’s Basketball Team
is ranked 25th in the country in the most recent USA Today /ESPN Division II Top Coaches’ Poll, released on January 6, 2008. This is the first time, ever, that the Team has been so highly ranked in this poll.

The Firebirds are 12-2 for the 2008-09 season after defeating Mansfield State College, 73-45, in
Mansfield, Pennsylvania yesterday afternoon. They are led by senior guard LaQuanda Brandon (Washington, DC), who is averaging 14.7 ppg, and sophomore center Lillian McGill (Sumter, SC) averaging 14.2ppg. Brandon is currently ranked 9th among DII schools in free-throw percentages with a 94.3 completion rate. McGill is ranked 13th in rebounds per game, averaging 11rpg. She is also ranked 18th in field-goal percentages, with a completion rate of 57.8 ppg.

Other leading scorers for the Team include senior forward Deyshia Williams (Camden, NJ), who
averages 11 ppg, and senior guard DeVaughn Hailey, averaging 8.2 ppg. Another stand-out player is junior guard Nicole Cooper (Fort Washington, MD), who is ranked 36th in the country in three-point field-goal percentages, with a 44 percent completion. Overall, the Team averages 73 points per game, compared to their opponents’ 60.7 ppg.

UDC competes as an NCAA Division II Independent school. The Firebirds won the 2008
Independent Schools Tournament last year and received 17 votes in the 2008-09 Pre-season USA Today /ESPN Poll.

Head Women’s Basketball Coach Lester L. Butler, Jr., says about his team’s ranking, “we are extremely happy that we have been ranked 25th in the country in this prestigious Poll. We received votes in each preceding poll this year and are grateful that our effort to set goals at the beginning of the year to become ranked is being realized. We are looking forward to the regional rankings in late January to see where we stand in the Atlantic Region, because the top 8 teams in each region are selected for the coveted berths in the NCAA DII Tournament. As an independent school, to be ranked 25th is a high honor for the program and the University. We look forward to continued success during the remainder of the season.

UDC’s leading scorer, guard, LaQuanda Brandon is excited about the Team being ranked 25th in the country. She stated, “It’s a good thing--- we really deserve it because we have worked so hard to get there. It feels good and very special being a part of a winning team. We will continue to win if we keep working hard, because we have the talent.”

Lillian McGill, UDC’s, center and nationally ranked player said about the team being ranked #25, “It feels pretty good because we played together as a team.”  Because the opponents are aware of her national ranking and lately have been double teaming her, she feels good about that part of it too. “Being double-teamed shows that I’m doing something right. Now I am distributing the ball around the court to my teammates more evenly. Teams always play us hard so double-teaming me will just open the court to my teammates to score.”