The Aquinas women's basketball team gained its tenth win of the season in the first home game in a month over WHAC opponent Lawrence Tech on Wednesday evening (Jan. 12) in Sturrus Center. After only trailing by one at halftime, the Saints outscored the Blue Devils by eight in the second half to secure the 62-55 victory.
AQ's overall record improves to 10-9 on the season with a 5-4 WHAC record, while LTU now has a record of 10-11 on the year and 6-5 within the conference.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle that saw the lead change hands eight times and the game being tied another two times. Daz'Sha Day got her night going by scoring seven of Aquinas' 15 points in the opening stanza, but Lawrence Tech led 16-15 after 10 minutes of play. The same could be said for the second period as the teams traded buckets with no one gaining a lead over three points. Brighton Miller scored all five of her points for the game in the second quarter to lead the Saints, however it was the Blue Devils who led 29-28 at the half.
AQ came out with a little more urgency in the third quarter and led for the majority of the frame. Day scored another seven points in the quarter to help the Saints create a three point lead over LTU with only 10 minutes remaining. From the end of the third quarter to the six minute mark in the fourth, Aquinas went on a 10-0 run to grab its first double-digit lead of the game. Lawrence Tech battled back and were able to cut the AQ lead down to three, but the Saints locked down defensively and made free throws down the stretch to secure the seven point win.
Day was the leading scorer for AQ with 20 points on 8-14 shooting (2-5 from three) and also collected four rebounds, an assist, and a steal. The Saints also had a lot of help off the bench with Mauriya Barnes and Isabel Reemsnyder both scoring double figures. Reemsnyder nearly had a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Barnes finished with 13 points and three rebounds plus an assist.
Marissa Brady finished with a career high 10 blocks in 40 minutes of play to go along with her eight points and eight rebounds. Miller also had eight rebounds, while scoring five points and collecting two assists and steals a piece. Jordyn Wigg led the way with three assists and scored the remaining two points.
The Saints finished with a 42.0% field goal percentage after making 21-50 shots, including 7-22 from behind the arc and 13-22 from the free throw line. The Blue Devils went 21-62 from the floor for a 33.9% shooting percentage, while going 4-16 from downtown and 9-11 from the charity stripe.
Aquinas was outrebounded by Lawrence Tech by a slim 39-38 margin, while LTU also had more steals (10-5). The Saints held a 10-1 advantage in blocks as both teams collected eight assists. AQ collected more second chance points (8-7) and bench points (27-14), while the Blue Devils scored more points off turnovers (16-12), points in the paint (26-22), and fast break points (6-2).
Aquinas will next face Cornerstone in a rivalry match-up on Saturday (Jan. 15) in Sturrus Center, with tip-off scheduled for 1:00 PM.
