The Aquinas women's basketball team won its eighth straight match-up over WHAC rival Cornerstone on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 15) in Sturrus Center. The Saints were able to hold off a big Golden Eagle comeback after holding a lead of 16 at one point to take the 61-56 victory

AQ's overall record improves to 11-9 on the season with a 6-4 WHAC record, while CU now has a record of 3-14 on the year and 1-8 within the conference.

It was the Daz'Sha Day show in the first quarter as she went a perfect 3-3 from the floor and 2-2 from the charity stripe to score half of the team's points in the first 10 minutes. This performance allowed Aquinas and Cornerstone to end the quarter tied at 16 with CU leading by as much as seven on a couple of different occasions. The Saints' defense settled in for the second quarter, holding the Golden Eagles to seven total points. Marissa Brady scored six of the 11 AQ points and helped the team take a 27-23 lead into the locker room.

The Aquinas offense then exploded in the third quarter, finishing with 23 points in the period and holding a 13 point lead heading into the final 10 minutes. Brady (9) and Day (8) continued their offensive output on the day, combining for 17 of the 23 points. After the Saints were able to push their lead to 16 with 6:10 remaining in the fourth, the Golden Eagles responded with a 13-1 run over the next four minutes to cut the lead to four. AQ went 7-10 from the free throw line down the stretch to keep CU at bay and finish the five point win.

Day led the way for the Saints for the second straight game, scoring 16 points on 6-10 shooting, while also grabbing eight rebounds, collecting three steals, and two assists. Brady was not far behind, finishing with a 15 point-11 rebound double-double for her 12th of the season. Brady also tied Jackie Braspenninx for the most blocks in a single season for the AQ women's basketball program at 75, with Braspenninx accomplishing the feat in 2003-04.

Mauriya Barnes finished in double figures for the fourth straight game off the bench, scoring 13 points. Isabel Reemsnyder scored nine points to go along with her four rebounds and single assist. Eliza Brown added five points and Brighton Miller led the way with three assists in addition to her three points. 

The Saints finished with a 40.4% field goal percentage after making 19-47 shots, including 6-17 from behind the arc and 17-23 from the free throw line. The Golden Eagles went 16-51 from the floor for a 31.4% shooting percentage, while going 9-24 from downtown and 15-21 from the charity stripe. 

Aquinas outrebounded Cornerstone by a 39-31 margin and also had a 4-1 advantage in blocks. CU held an 11-10 advantage in assists and an 11-5 margin in steals. AQ collected more points in the paint (20-8), points off turnovers (16-14), and fast break points (4-2), while the Golden Eagles scored more bench points (35-22) and second chance points (7-4).

Aquinas will look to keep it rolling on the road against Lourdes on Wednesday (Jan. 19) in Sturrus Center, with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 PM.