After a slow first quarter, the Aquinas women's basketball team took complete control on Monday night (Dec. 9), as the Saints ran away from Holy Cross in South Bend, Ind. by a 72-58 final. AQ trailed 23-16 after the opening 10 minutes, but the visiting Saints outscored Holy Cross by 21 points in the final three quarters to earn the non-conference victory.

With the win, Aquinas evens its record at 6-6, while Holy Cross – out of the Chicagoland Conference – drops to 4-8 on the year. HC had won two of its past three games and was 3-3 in league play and while the home Saints started well, AQ bounced back to dominate the last 30 minutes of the game.

Holy Cross still led at the half (40-38), but Aquinas cut what was once a 10-point deficit to just a bucket. The visiting Saints outscored HC 34-18 in the second half, including a clinching 17-7 mark in the fourth quarter.

Marissa Brady put together the best performance of her AQ career, as the starting center notched 24 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. She went 11-of-18 from the field and grabbed four offensive boards in 35 minutes. Daz'Sha Day was the other Saint to reach double-digits, totaling 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Brady and Day scored 11 points apiece in the second half, when AQ posted a +16 scoring advantage.

Six Aquinas players scored five points or more, as the scoring was spread around on Monday night. Camaryia Williams added seven points, seven rebounds, and three steals, while backcourt mate Keeley Hinton added five points. Jayda Smith totaled six points and three assists, while Kailee Ford also chipped in five points.

Holy Cross (44.2 percent) actually outshot Aquinas (42.2) from the field, but the Saints made 27 field goals to HC's 23 makes. The visiting Saints' major advantage was the stripe, where AQ went 14-of-23 and Holy Cross managed just a 5-for-6 mark. Aquinas also forced the home Saints into 26 turnovers, scoring 19 points off those miscues.

AQ also led points in the paint (28-22) and second chance points (12-6), while Holy Cross managed a 19-9 edge in bench points. The rebounding advantage went to HC by a 40-33 tally.

The high-scoring first quarter saw Holy Cross lead 23-16 and hold the two-point edge at halftime. HC extended its lead back to 46-39 with 7:02 remaining in the third quarter, but Aquinas rallied and took a 53-48 advantage on two buckets by Brady and another by Day. Williams scored right before the third quarter buzzer to cap off the 16-5 surge that gave AQ a 55-51 cushion.

It was 57-53 when JaKarri Alven buried a three-pointer, Day hit a jumper and a three-pointer, and the visiting Saints made a couple free throws to push out to a 67-53 advantage with 2:30 left in the game. The 10-0 run would be more than enough, as AQ would hold a dozen-point lead the rest of the contest.

Aquinas returns to the court on Saturday (Dec. 14), but stays on the road. The Saints head to Rochester at 4:00 p.m. to take on the Warriors in WHAC action.