DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team faced Division I opponent Bethune-Cookman today in an exhibition in Daytona Beach. The Sailfish got off to a slow start against the Wildcats out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and went on to ultimately fall 68-45 in the contest. The Sailfish entered today's game with a 1-7 record and coming off of a four point defeat to Florida Tech in their last game. Bethune-Cookman moves to 6-1 on the season with the win today.  

The Sailfish began today's game cold from the field, being held without a field for the first seven minutes of the first quarter. PBA struggled with the Wildcat's full-court pressure and committed eight early turnovers. The 'Fish dug themselves a big hole trailing 22-6 after the first quarter where they were held to 2-of-12 shooting. 

The Sailfish were able to slow down the Wildcat offense in the second quarter, limiting them to 11 points. Unfortunately for the 'Fish, they were held to ten points themselves and trailed 33-16 at the half. Kennedi Rodgers accounted for half of PBA's points in the first half, scoring eight of her team-high thirteen points. 

PBA was able to keep the final two quarters fairly even, but the early deficit was too much to overcome. The Sailfish offense improved scoring 29 points in the second half going 8-of-22 from the field and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. Sia Williams was the only other Sailfish player to break double digits scoring 11 points while going 9-of-12 from the charity stripe. PBA leaders Avree Carpenter and Claire Bady weren't able to get going offensively scoring just two and three points respectively while shooting a combined 2-of-20.

The Wildcats were led by Tatum Hayes who scored 18 points, shooting 6-of-10 from three. The Sailfish did a solid job defensively holding Bethune-Cookman to 34 percent from the floor but were only able to shoot 30 percent themselves. The big difference in the contest was that the Wildcats got an extra 29 shots from the floor with their 24 offensive rebounds and forcing 24 Sailfish turnovers.

Up next, PBA returns to Sunshine State Conference play at Embry-Riddle on Dec. 14. The Eagles have a 4-3 record and are 2-1 in SSC play so far on the season.