Buffalo, NY - The D'Youville Women's Basketball Team had a lot to be thankful for Sunday afternoon as the team defeated SUNY Canton 62-58 in their first game back from Thanksgiving break to improve their record to 4-1 on the season.

Both offenses got off to a slow start, with the score being 12-4 Spartans half way through the first half. Just over a minute later, the D'Youville Spartans took a 14-4 lead, their largest of the game. The Canton offense came to life within the final 9 minutes of the first half, outscoring the Spartans 25-13 in that time span, taking a 29-27 lead into halftime.

To begin the second half, D'Youville went on an 8-0 run to take a 35-29 lead just under three and a half minutes in. However, the Kangaroos didn't give in as the two teams battled back and forth until the the closest point of the second half 53-51 D'Youville, with 5:28 left. The Spartans held onto their lead, eventually winning the game 62-58.

"Today was a tough win," said third year Head Coach Dan Glover. "We battled all game and over came the halftime deficit and played a good second half."

Sophomore Jean-Ann Korona (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) had her best game of the season, leading D'Youville with 21 points. Missing her first double-double of the season by recording 9 rebounds, Korona added 5 assists and 3 steals. In the first half, Korona had 14 points, shooting 6-9 from the field. 

D'Youville out rebounded SUNY Canton by a total of 51-42. "We played well defensively and battled on the boards which came up crucial in the end," said Coach Glover. The team forced 9 turnovers and collected 34 defensive rebounds, 9 more than their opponent.

Junior standout Amanda Marcely (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) once again was a strong player for the home squad. Putting up 15 points and 14 rebounds, Marcely recorded her fourth double-double in 5 games this season. Also adding 4 assists, 2 steals and a block, the junior contributed a solid all-around effort.

Tossing in 10 points and 4 rebounds was freshman guard Awilda Murphy (Kenmore, NY/Sacred Heart Academy). Off the bench, Alexis Smith (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) added 9 points and 7 rebounds.

With 2 games coming up this week, Coach Glover wants to work on closing out games. "We need to continue to work and focus on finishing out games," said Glover. He continued by saying "all in all, it was another good team win for our team."

The next game for the D'Youville Women's Basketball Team is Wednesday, December 3rd at 6:00 PM. D'Youville will head to Penn St.-Behrend for their first conference game of the season.