WASHINGTON, D.C. – The D'Youville University women's basketball team was narrowly defeated 66-65 by the University of the District of Columbia in their conference opener on Friday.
 
Senior Anna Jankovic (Averill Park, N.Y.) led the way for the Saints with a team-high 15 points, nine rebounds, and five steals. With her performance tonight, Jankovic reached a milestone of 1,000 points scored in her D'Youville career. Freshman Samantha Ruhlman (Warren, Pa.) scored a career-high 12 points and dished out three assists for DYU. Redshirt sophomore Megan Fedor (Elmira, N.Y.) also posted her best offensive performance as a Saint with a season-high 10 points.
 
After falling behind 7-2 to start the game, Jankovic and Ruhlman knocked down three-pointers to cut it to 11-9 with 2:25 remaining in the first quarter. Six straight points from the Firebirds opened their lead back up to eight. Junior Isabella Kostyal-Larrier (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) buried a three-pointer with 46 seconds left, but UDC went to the second quarter holding a 19-12 lead.
 
A 9-1 run fueled by a mid-range jumper from freshman Aliviya Vallone Russell (Buffalo, N.Y.), a pair of free throws from senior Sofie Fuglsang (Oberanven, Luxembourg), a layup from freshman Allie Hall (Rochester, N.Y.), and capped off by a three-pointer from Ruhlman brought the Saints within one halfway through the second quarter. Kostyal-Larrier drained her second three-ball of the game to keep DYU within one as the score stood at 26-25 with 3:18 to go until halftime. After the Firebirds were able to go back up by six, Fedor sank a three and Hall made a mid-range jumper as the Saints went into halftime trailing 31-30.
 
DYU leveled the score at 33-33 thanks to a three-pointer from Fuglsang in the early going of the third quarter. Six straight points from Vallone Russell and Jankovic gave the Saints their first lead of the day at the 7:43 mark. UDC answered back with six straight points of their own to retake the lead, but Ruhlman responded with a three-pointer to make it 42-41 DYU. However, the Firebirds ripped off a 12-2 run to take a 54-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Saints would not go down quietly, scoring seven straight points on a three-pointer from Jankovic and close-range jumpers from Fedor and Hall to start the final frame. Fuglsang and Vallone Russell both cashed in from behind the arc to put DYU in front 60-59 with 4:43 left to play. Ruhlman then dropped in her fourth three-pointer of the night to extend their lead to four with 4:15 remaining. However, UDC closed the game on a 7-2 run to eek out a 66-65 win over the Saints.
 
With the loss, D'Youville drops to 2-6 (0-1 ECC). They will continue conference play on Sunday when they face the College of Staten Island on the road at 1:00 p.m.