MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- St. Thomas (10-7, 8-1 TSC) defeated Ave Maria (12-5, 5-4 TSC) in a Sun Conference showdown on Saturday afternoon at the Fernandez Family Center by a final score of 70-49.
 
With the win, the Bobcats improve to 8-1 in The Sun Conference.

The Bobcats were led by career performances coming from Samara Auguste and Keiana Brooks. Auguste matched her career-high with 28 points, while Brooks recorded a career-best 20 points. 
 
The game from both ends of the floor began with a slow start as both teams totaled 12 points combined, with the Bobcats leading 8-4 midway through the first quarter.
 
The scoreboard read 12-4 at the end of the first, in favor of the home side, as both Brooks (six points) and Auguste (four points) combined for 10 of the of the 12 points the scored by St. Thomas.
 

The second quarter brought a better shooting effort from both sides as STU went to the half up 33-20. It was Brooks who stole the show in the second as she shot a near perfect 5-for-6, which totaled a game-high 13 points heading into the locker room.
 
In the third quarter, Auguste took over. At the half she only had six points but it was her performance in the third that rocketed her numbers on the afternoon. She made three threes in the quarter, and two of them within 16 seconds of each other (2:24 and 2:08) as her back-to-back threes put STU up 49-35.
 
The fourth and final quarter of play had Auguste cap off her 28-point game, tying her career-high previously recorded on December 2, 2017 at Thomas. Brooks recorded her career-best with the 20 points she provided in the offensive efforts. 
 
The final score for the game went in favor of St. Thomas, 70-49.
 
Notable numbers on the day came from Auguste (28 points, five assists and four steals), Brooks (20 points on 8-for-9 shooting, four rebounds and three assists). On the defensive end, two Bobcats snatched up six boards (Ebony Griffin and Maria Iglesias).
 
Next up for St. Thomas is a pair of home back-to-back games against the University of the Virgin Islands on Wednesday, January 17 and Thursday, January 18 both set to tip-off at 7 p.m.
 
To follow live: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/stu/index.htm.
 
Let's Go Bobcats!