Buffalo, N.Y. - Despite a solid defensive effort, cold shooting and limited runs proved costly for the St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team on Friday evening, as the Spartans dropped a 47-41 East Coast Conference decision to D'Youville University on Friday evening at Saints Center in Western New York.

STAC falls to 7-17 overall and 4-8 in ECC play, while D'Youville improves to 10-11 and 7-6.

Jona Kabashi led the maroon and gold offense with a game-high 14 points, while Toni Schuetze (10 points) also scored in double digits. Meanwhile, Samantha Ruhlman led all Saints players in scoring with 14 points of her own.

STAC shot 22.8 percent (13-57) from the field, and 83.3 percent (10-12) from the foul line, while D'Youville shot 28.8 percent (17-59) from the floor.

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Six Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest.
• Toni Schuetze led the maroon and gold with four assists on the evening.
• Jona Kabashi hit 5 of her 16 field goal attempts and went 3-of-5 from the foul line. Toni Schuetze went 3-for-13 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.
• D'Youville out-rebounded STAC by a 45-41 margin, with Bailey Chapman grabbing a game-high 12 boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up five steals, with the Saints turning the ball over on 10 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in three team statistical categories over D'Youville: Points in the Paint (14-12), Fastbreak Points (4-0) and Bench Points (14-8).
• St. Thomas Aquinas had its largest lead of the game (three points) with just under nine minutes to play in the opening quarter, 3-0, on a Toni Schuetze three-point jump shot.
• The game featured two ties and one lead change.
• St. Thomas Aquinas trailed D'Youville, 32-18 at the half and shot 22.2 percent (6-27) from the field, 23.5 percent (4-17) from beyond the arc and 100.0 percent (2-2) from the foul line.
• Bailey Chapman led all scorers with seven first half points for the Spartans, while shooting 33.3 percent from both the field (2-of-6) and three (1-of-3), and 100.0 percent (2-for-2) from the foul line.

D'YOUVILLE NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Six Saints logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Samantha Ruhlman led the Saints with a team-high 14 points, while teammate Molly O'Toole (10 points) also scored in double figures.
• Morgan Giancaterino led D'Youville with six assists on the night.
• Ruhlman went 4-for-7 from the floor, 4-of-5 from long range and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, as O'Toole went 4-for-14 from the field.
• Molly O'Toole also grabbed a team-high ten boards for the Saints.
• D'Youville picked up two steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 10 separate occasions.
• The Saints earned advantages in two team statistical categories over St. Thomas Aquinas: Points off Turnovers (13-7) and Second Chance Points (7-3).
• D'Youville had its largest lead of the game (16 points) with just over a minute to play in the second quarter, 32-16, on a Molly O'Toole three-point jump shot.
• Samantha Ruhlman, Ava Pearson and Xanthippi Karatasiou led all Saints' scorers at the half with six points apiece.
• D'Youville's best shooting quarter came in the second stanza, with the Saints shooting 42.9 percent (6-14) from the field and 57.1 percent (4-7) from long distance.

UP NEXT:

STAC continues its Western New York road trip with a visit to Daemen University on Sunday, February 15. Opening tip between the Spartans and Wildcats is set for noon at Lumsden Gymnasium.