The Aquinas women's basketball team doubled up visiting Lawrence Tech in the second quarter of Wednesday night's (Feb. 1) home win inside the Sturrus Center, using that 10-point advantage to pull out a 56-46 WHAC victory. AQ put together a strong defensive effort, holding Lawrence Tech to just 30 percent shooting in the triumph.
 
Remarkably, Aquinas and LTU managed to score the same number of points in the first (nine), third (15), and fourth (12) quarters – but it was the Saints' 20-10 edge on the scoreboard in the second quarter that proved to be the difference. AQ wins its second straight game and improves to 10-13 on the season and 5-10 in conference play, while the Blue Devils dropped to 9-13 overall and 6-8 in league action.
 
Four Saints scored at least eight points in the defensive battle, with a pair of AQ players reaching double-digits. JaKarri Alven went 9-for-10 at the free throw line and tallied a game-high 13 points to go along with six boards and two steals. It was her third straight game in double figures and the eighth such game this season. 
 
Brighton Miller shot 5-for-10 from the field, drained a pair of triples, and totaled 12 points and four boards. Emily Cline posted eight points, seven rebounds, a whopping five steals, and two assists. Mauriya Barnes also hit a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points for the Saints, who had seven players log at least 21 minutes in the win.
 
It was a 9-9 deadlock after the first quarter, but AQ scored the first points in the second stanza on a Barnes trifecta and a layup from Brionne Crews. Cline converted consecutive layups to make it a 21-13 score at the 4:03 mark of the half. Two free throws apiece from Barnes and Alven gave the Saints a 27-16 cushion.
 
Aquinas went to the locker room with a 29-19 lead, as Jayda Smith scored a layup in the closing seconds of the half. 
 
Lawrence Tech used a 15-6 run to open the third quarter and made it a 35-34 game with 3:16 remaining. From there, AQ scored the final nine points of the quarter on a Miller three-pointer, a layup from Alven, and two more buckets from Miller. The Saints went into the fourth quarter leading 44-34. 
 
LTU could only pull as close as seven points in the final 10 minutes and AQ made enough free throws – Alven was 5-for-6 in the fourth – to prevail with the victory. The Saints limited Lawrence Tech to 30.2 percent shooting overall and 6-of-26 from three-point range.
 
Another key factor in the win was the turnover battle. Aquinas committed only nine miscues, forced 17 LTU turnovers, and a 21-3 advantage in points off turnovers. The Saints also held a 24-16 edge in points in the paint and a 14-8 cushion in made free throws.
 
Crews scored six points in just nine minutes of action. Eliza Brown did not score, but pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists. Alexis Thomas also didn't reach the scoring column, yet provided four rebounds and three assists.
 
Four of AQ's final five games are on the road, starting with Saturday's (Feb. 4) 1:00 p.m. against crosstown rival Cornerstone.