Washington, D.C. - Saturday afternoon in Washington, D.C. pitted two or the top teams in the East Coast Conference against each other in a women's basketball game as the 11-3, 7-1 Queens College Knights faced the 10-3, 6-1 UDC Firebirds, and in the end it was UDC who came out on top, 69-53.  The loss ended QC's season-long six-game-winning-streak.

It was a defensive struggle early on as both sides struggled to put the ball in the basket.  Queens finally grabbed the lead when Madison Rowland finished a fast break with a layup to put QC ahead, 10-9, with 11:22 left.

After UDC quickly retook the lead, Queens battled back and finally went up 16-14, when Melissa Gardner found Elisabeth Gully for an easy two with 6:17 remaining.  From there, the Firebirds closed out the last 5:55 of the half with a 17-3 run to lead 31-19 at the break.

The Knights fought hard in the second half and got the deficit as close as eight points. 35-27, when MacKenzie Rowland made a basket with 16:42 remaining.  The Knights never threatened and UDC went on for a 69-53 win.

In the setback, Madison Rowland paced the Knights with 15 points and four steals.  Her older sister finished with 11, while Melissa Gardner came off the bench to score 13 points.  Joya McFarland had two assists and three steals.

The Queens College women's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, January 22, when they host Dowling.  The game with the Golden Lions is slated for 5:00 PM.