SPARKILL, N.Y. – It was a red-hot day for the Pioneer offense, as the Green and Gold shot nearly 60 percent from the field en route to a 79-68 road victory at St. Thomas Aquinas College Jan. 20.
 
With the win, the Pioneers remain unbeaten in East Coast Conference (ECC) play this season, improving to 9-0 against league opponents and 14-5 overall. The Spartans drop their first conference game of the season with the loss, slipping to 7-1 in ECC play and 15-3 overall.
 
Graduate student Kylie Garrett led all scorers with 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a 3-of-5 effort from beyond the arc and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Senior Sasha Patterson netted 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while sophomore Mikaiya Moore and junior Shannon Doyle chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
It was a defensive battle in the first half, as the two sides combined for 30 turnovers during the opening 20 minutes of action. Despite the poor ball control, LIU Post shot 63 percent from the field and took a 34-23 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
The Spartans came storming back however in the third quarter, closing the stanza on a 9-2 run, scoring 24 points during the 10-minute stretch after netting just 23 during the first half. The Pioneer lead was cut to just three points, 50-47, with 10 minutes to play. After the Spartans Made it a one-point game (52-51), to begin the final frame, it was all LIU Post the rest of the way. A Garrett jumper sparked an eight-point burst for the Green and Gold, and the Pioneers never looked back. All eight of Garrett's free-throw attempts came in the final quarter, and the fifty-year guard was nearly flawless, holding off St. Thomas Aquinas to push the Pioneers into a solo first-place position in the ECC standings.
 
The Pioneers look to stay perfect after a week off when they travel to neighboring New York Institute of Technology for another chapter in the "Battle of the Boulevard" with tip-off scheduled for 1:00 p.m.