BUFFALO, N.Y. – The D'Youville University women's basketball team notched their first conference win of the season against St. Thomas Aquinas College by a score of 60-42.
 
Senior Anna Jankovic (Averill Park, N.Y.) led the way for the Saints, scoring a team-high 16 points, dishing out a team-high four assists, and recording a team-high five steals. Junior Morgan Giancaterino (Orchard Park, N.Y.) had a strong showing, scoring 11 points and grabbing four rebounds. Freshman Samantha Ruhlman (Warren, Pa.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and added six points.
 
A layup from freshman Allie Hall (Rochester, N.Y.) and a free throw from Jankovic gave DYU an early 3-2 lead. Ruhlman knocked down a three-pointer to increase their lead to 6-4 with 3:55 left in the first quarter. However, St. Thomas Aquinas closed out the quarter on a 7-2 run to take an 11-8 lead.
 
Junior Isabella Kostyal-Larrier (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) cashed in from beyond the arc to tie the game at 11 in the early going of the second quarter. Five straight points from the Spartans put them back in front 16-11. An 8-0 run fueled by a three-pointer from Kostyal-Larrier and layups from Jankovic and freshman Aliviya Vallone Russell (Buffalo, N.Y.) gave the Saints a 19-16 advantage halfway through the quarter. Senior Sofie Fuglsang (Oberanven, Luxembourg) dropped in a three-pointer to make it 25-19 DYU. Jankovic scored six straight points on a pair of layups and two free throws, and the Saints went into halftime with a seven-point lead.
 
Layups from Jankovic and Giancaterino extended DYU's lead to 11 early in the third quarter. Jankovic put in a layup to keep the lead at 10 halfway through the period. Ruhlman knocked down a three-pointer with 2:17 remaining to make it 40-32. Fuglsang converted a mid-range jumper in the closing seconds to give the Saints a 44-36 edge heading into the final frame.
 
After the Spartans cut the lead to four early in the fourth quarter, redshirt sophomore Megan Fedor (Elmira, N.Y.) came off the bench to drain two consecutive three-pointers to make it 53-42 with five minutes left to play. Jankovic put in a layup, Giancaterino converted a pair of free throws, and Vallone Russell cashed in a three-pointer as the Saints ended the game on a 16-2 run to seal the 60-42 victory.
 
D'Youville improves to 3-8 and 1-3 in the ECC with the win. They will travel to Manchester, New Hampshire to face Saint Anselm College on Friday at 1:30 p.m.