SPARKILL, N.Y. – The D'Youville University women's basketball team has been eliminated from the ECC Tournament after falling to St. Thomas Aquinas in the first round by a score of 62-52.
 
Mercy Lasu (Innisfil, Canada) had the best game of her career, leading the Saints with 16 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs. Brianne Moxley (Penfield, N.Y.) put up a double-digit scoring performance in her final game as a Saint, scoring 10 points. Carla Torrubia Cano (Melilla, Spain) grabbed 10 rebounds in her last game as a Saint. Stella Mollica (Shillington, Pa.) led DYU in assists with seven.
 
The Saints got out to a 6-0 lead to start the first quarter after layups from Jaelyn Vleer-Elliott (Waterville, N.Y.), Mollica, and Lasu. St. Thomas Aquinas did not score their first point until the 4:49 mark. A three-point play from Torrubia Cano followed by a layup from Lasu made it 11-2 DYU with 3:50 to go in the quarter. The Saints would take a 15-9 lead into the second quarter.
 
DYU continued to roll, starting the second quarter on a 6-0 run thanks to midrange jumpers from Morgan Giancaterino (Orchard Park, N.Y.), Moxley, and Lasu, which made it 21-9 with 4:27 until halftime. STAC responded with six straight points of their own to stop the Saints' momentum. Moxley knocked down a three-pointer with 43 seconds left to give DYU a 24-15 lead as the game went to halftime.
 
Isabella Kostyal-Larrier (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) drained a three to make it 27-17 Saints early in the third quarter. A 13-0 run from the Spartans put them ahead halfway through the quarter. Moxley put a stop to the run and tied the game at 30 with a three-pointer. Mollica cashed in from three-point land to put the Saints back in front 36-34 with 1:34 left in the quarter. A layup from Lasu made it 38-37 DYU with 55 seconds remaining, but STAC closed out the quarter with five straight points to take a 42-38 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Consecutive layups from Giancaterino and Lasu followed by a 10-footer from Torrubia Cano kept the Saints within three in the early going of the fourth quarter. After a four-minute scoring drought for DYU, Lasu made a layup to make it 51-46 Spartans with 2:33 left to play. Giancaterino dropped in a 15-footer to keep it at a five-point deficit with 1:01 remaining. However, the Saints couldn't draw any closer, and STAC closed out the game with free throws.
 
D'Youville finishes the season with a 9-18 overall record and 7-9 in the ECC.