Firebirds cap off Homecoming Classic with 59-37 win over St. Paul’s College

Washington, DC: November 21, 2010 – The UDC Lady Firebirds (3-1) stayed undefeated at home this season with a 59-37 win over the St. Paul’s College Tigers (1-3) in the final game of the 2010 UDC Homecoming Thanksgiving Classic.

UDC jumped out to an 11-2 lead with 16:47 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Graduate student Niqky Hughes (Public Administration – Fort Worth, TX) paced the Firebirds with 16 points in the game on 6 of 11 shooting, including hitting 2 of 4 shots from beyond the arc. Joining Hughes in double figures were senior forward Lillian McGill (Admin. Of Justice – Sumter, SC) who had 11 points and was three rebounds away from her fourth double-double of the year, and freshman guard Renita Walker (Electrical Engineering – Norfolk, VA) who had 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.

As a team, the Firebirds shot 11 of 25 (44.0%) from the field in the first half, and 5 of 11 from three-point range (45.5%). The Tigers, on the other hand, only shot 6 of 25 (24.0%) from the field in the first half, and missed all four of their three-point attempts. UDC also outscored St. Paul’s off turnovers in the first half 14 - 6, which helped the Firebirds race to a 20-point half-time lead, 32 – 12.

The second half saw no major runs by either team, and the closest the Tigers got was when they cut UDC’s lead to 13 on a lay-up by Jasmine Stewart with 6:17 remaining in the game. The Firebirds quickly answered with a lay-up of their own by McGill with 5:57 remaining to stretch the lead back out to 15, and seconds later Walker hit a three-pointer to again give the Firebirds a comfortable advantage they would not relinquish.

Hughes was named the tournament MVP with a combined 28 points during the two games the Firebirds played over the weekend. McGill and junior guard Kendra Johnson (Mass Media – Mt. Laurel, NJ) were named to the all-tournament team from UDC. Sophomore guard Jasmine Stewart was named to the all-tournament team for the Tigers, with 29 points during the two games the Tigers played.

The other selections to the all-tournament team were Lauren Staats from Georgian Court University, and Nadirah Brown from Cheyney University.

The Firebirds have one more game before the Thanksgiving break, on Tuesday, November 23, at 6:00pm, against Shippensburg at the UDC sports complex. The game can be heard live on-line by clicking on the “audio” link.