The Dominican University women's basketball team scored a huge Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) victory on Thursday night at the Igini Sports Forum, topping the Aurora University Spartans 65-49 to move to 12-7 on the season and 8-6 in NACC play. The pushes the Stars ahead of the Spartans in the league standings and into a tie for sixth with the MSOE Raiders as Dominican looks to qualify for the six-team conference tournament for the first time since 2012.
"This game was huge for us in many ways," said Amanda Parker, the Stars' first-year head coach. "We did not get off to a good start but continued to battle against the odds. It was nice to see this team play selfless basketball and only worry about the overall outcome. Hopefully now we have a little momentum as we push to finish out the regular season strong."
After the Spartans scored on their first possession of the second quarter to open their largest lead of the night, 17-9, the Stars went on a 21-4 run to close out the half and open a nine-point, 30-21 lead. The Stars controlled the glass in the huge second quarter, including pulling down six offensive rebounds, and turned the Spartans over nine times to manage 22 shots in the quarter to Aurora's 11.
Amari Stafford knocked down a pair of threes in the quarter, the first to give Dominican a 20-19 lead and the last to close out the quarter in the final thirty seconds of the quarter.
Dominican added to their lead throughout the first six minutes of the third quarter, opening their largest lead of the night, 45-26, when
Stephenee Huggans converted on the first of two free throws after Huggans picked Emily Petraski's pocket in the backcourt.
The Spartans made a run, trimming the Dominican lead down to 11, 50-39, early in the fourth quarter, but a quick run by Dominican, capped by a
Timiya Ray three put the Stars' lead back to 16, 55-39, and Dominican never looked back.
Hannah Currant continued her impressive stretch, logging career-highs in both points and rebounds to notch her first career double-double with 17 points and ten boards. The freshman is averaging better than 11 points per game over the last six contests for Dominican, a 4-2 stretch for the Stars. Currant shot 7-for-17 from the field and converted on three of her four attempts from the foul line.
Alisha Markley added 12 points, going 3-for-7 from three, while Stafford finished with ten points to round out three in double-figure scoring for Dominican.
For the Spartans, Alyssa Brems, Meija Rabi and Adriana Ramirez all finished with 12 points while Julie Galauner chipped in ten in the losing effort.
Dominican hits the road on Saturday, traveling to Lisle, Illinois, to meet the Benedictine University Eagles. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at Benedictine's Rice Center.
