WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team faced off against the Saint Leo Lions for the second time this season tonight at Rubin Arena. The Sailfish fell 76-52 in the previous matchup in St. Leo, and were unable to get revenge today as they dropped todays game 73-56. PBA drops to 3-20 on the season with the defeat while Saint Leo is now 12-12.
The Sailfish started the game by getting solid contributions all around, receiving scoring from seven different players in the first quarter. Unfortunately for the Sailfish, the leading scorer in the quarter had just three points. The 'Fish were 6-of-16 from the floor in the first ten minutes and 1-of-3 from downtown. PBA trailed 18-14 after the first to the Lions who were led by Casey O'Shaughnessy who went 4-of-4 from the floor while scoring eight points.
PBA struggled to knock down shots in the second quarter, shooting 24 percent, 4-of-17.
Kennedi Rodgers was the bright spot offensively for the Sailfish, scoring five of her ten points in the quarter. The Sailfish shot themselves in the foot committing nine of their 16 turnovers in the first half, which led to 21 Lion points off turnovers for the game. Defensively, the 'Fish stepped up their intensity holding Saint Leo to 3-of-12 shooting from the floor however the Lion were able to convert 7-of-8 free-throws and extend their lead to 33-25 at the half.
PBA battled out of the halftime locker room led by
Sia Williams,
Avree Carpenter, and
Claire Bady who combined for 13 of the teams 18 points in the third quarter. The Sailfish began to dominate the boards in the second half with a total of 17 offensive rebounds leading to 15 second chance points. Overall in the contest, PBA won the rebounding battle 44-33 over the Lions. PBA had the Saint Leo lead down to three, but a 8-0 run to finish the fourth quarter and begin the fourth created a gap that the Sailfish were unable to overcome.
Despite having a quite game, Saint Leo leading scorer Amanda Ulrich took over the game in the fourth quarter scoring eight of 14 in the final period of play. The Lions had four players reach double digits, led by Alex Button who scored 18 points.
Claire Bady led the charge for the Sailfish offense scoring 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
Avree Carpenter and
Kennedi Rodgers each cracked double figures with 11 and 10 respectively.
The 'Fish finished the game shooting 33 percent from the field, 21-of-63, and were 4-of-15 from three. Saint Leo shot it at 42 percent, 23-of-55 and connected on 7-of-17 three pointers.
The Sailfish will look to have a strong bounce back performance against Nova Southeastern on Wednesday at Rubin Arena. The Sailfish were defeated 76-55 in the previous matchup despite holding the halftime lead.
