The University of District of Columbia (UDC) Lady Firebirds will make their first East Coast Conference (ECC) Tournament Finals appearance after advancing with a 77-68 win over Queens College of New York, in the semifinals on March 6 in Washington, D.C.
No. 2 UDC (2007 overall, 15-5 ECC) will next take top-seeded Long Island University C.W. Post (22-5, 18-2 ECC) in the ECC Championship game on March 8 in Brookville, N.Y.
UDC had to pull off a comeback against Queens after falling behind by double digits in the first half. The Lady Firebirds trailed 25-9 after the first 10 minutes of the game, but used an 11-0 run to tighten the score and eventually take the lead before halftime. UDC never looked back, controlling the lead for the entire second half.
Junior guard Telisha Turner led UDC with a team-high 29 points, and junior forward Denikka Brent added a double-double of 17 point and 12 rebounds for the Lady Firebirds. Both Turner and Brent were named to the All-ECC First Team prior to the tournament’s start. Sophomore guard Shantrel Oliver added 14 points and senior guard Teara Shaw finished with 10.
Freshman guard/forward Madison Rowland led Queens with 33 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Queens ended its season with a 20-8 overall record, 15-5 ECC.
