Southfield, Mich. — The Aquinas women's basketball team picked up a hard-fought opening conference win Wednesday evening (Nov. 9) with a 49-47 road victory over Lawrence Tech and made a little history in the process.

The Saints (3-1, 1-0 WHAC) sprinted out to a 9-0 lead after the first quarter. It marked the first time in team history that Aquinas had held an opponent scoreless in a 10-minute quarter since the NAIA switched to the four-quarter format before the start of the 2015-16 season.  

Lawrence Tech (1-2, 0-1 WHAC) shot 0-for-12 and missed six 3-pointers in the opening frame to fall behind early as they were unable to solve the Saints impenetrable defense. Second quarter wasn't much better for the Blue Devils. LTU made three shots from the field, but got to the free throw line for five more points to outscore the Saints 12-11 in the second quarter.

AQ's Mauriya Barnes and Jayda Smith, plus LTU's Kendall Fisher led all scorers at halftime with five points each in the low-scoring affair. Aquinas led 20-12 at the break.  

The Blue Devils stormed back in the second half, outscoring the Saints 24-10 in the third quarter. Fisher scored 15 of Lawrence Tech's points on 5-for-7 shooting. A pair of triples by Fisher and Maggie Long gave LTU its first lead at 28-26 with 3:30 left in the quarter. The Blue Devils held a six-point advantage at the end of the frame, 36-30.

Aquinas scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to get right back into the game. The score was tied up again at 40-40 with 6:28 remaining on a jumper made by Emily Cline. A layup by Cline a minute later knotted the score again at 42-42.

Up one after a handful of free throws, Eliza Brown buried AQ's fourth and final 3-pointer of the night to give the Saints a 48-44 lead with a little over two minutes left. Missed shots both ways followed as the defenses wouldn't allow either team to reach 50 points.

A made basket by LTU's Kylee Batey cut the Saints' lead to one, 48-47, with 16 seconds left. After Brown went 1-for-2 at the free throw line, the Blue Devils had one last chance down two with three seconds left. Fisher, who led all scorers with 23 points, took the final opportunity. She drove to the basket and missed her shot off the side of the backboard. The Saints survived.

Barnes finished with a team-high 11 points, followed by Cline with 10 points and eight rebounds. Aquinas shot 28.1% from the floor and went 13-for-24 at the charity stripe. Whereas, Lawrence Tech shot 22.8% and made 18-of-24 free throws.

Aquinas has now won its last three meetings against the Blue Devils. 

The Saints return to action with their WHAC home-opener on Saturday (Nov. 12) against Siena Height at home on the Coach Bo Court inside the Sturrus Sports & Fitness Center. Tipoff at 1 p.m.