MIAMI SHORES, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team took the court for the first time in their 2020-21 campaign this afternoon at Barry. The new-look Sailfish squad looked impressive during stretches of their opener but ultimately fell to the Buccaneers 59-50. The Sailfish start their season 0-1 while the Bucs move to 3-1 on the year.

The 'Fish were eager to finally take the floor in SSC action and they jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game with solid contribution from returners and newcomers. Transfer Shekinah Guthrie looked impressive on both ends of the floor early on and controlled the glass throughout the contest pulling down 15 total rebounds. New starting point guard Maria Benitez-Zayas controlled the tempo and ran the PBA offense effectively early on while returning leading scorer Sia Williams was a focal point of the attack. All three led the 'Fish in scoring in the first with four points each. After a strong first quarter, PBA led the Bucs 16-15. 

The Sailfish cooled off from the floor as the first half continued, yet they still shot a solid 44% (12-27) from the field in the half despite going just 1-of-6 from three. The Sailfish struggled with turnovers in the second ten minutes committing seven of their 16 in the quarter. Williams continued to be the catalyst offensively scoring 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Barry was led by Chiara Fusari who scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half. The Sailfish did a solid job defensively, holding Barry to 35% shooting but the Bucs were able to hit four three-pointers to PBA's one and took advantage at the free-throw line going 6-for-7. Barry took a 34-27 lead into the locker room after the first 20 minutes of play.

Both sides struggled shooting to open the second half as they combined to go 8-of-32 in the third quarter. Returning starter Avree Carpenter came to life in the quarter scoring seven of her game-high 15 points as a late quarter Sailfish run cut the Barry lead to three, 43-40, as PBA outscored the Bucs 13-9.  

While it looked like the Sailfish had the momentum heading to the start of the fourth quarter, Barry went on a 13-2 run led by Harriett Swindells who scored eight of her 15 in the final quarter. The Sailfish closed the game going just 3-of-13 from the field and stayed cold from behind the arc finishing the game 2-of-15 from three. While PBA outshot Barry from the floor, 36% (20-56) to 32% (21-66), the Bucs were able to score 18 points off 16 Sailfish turnovers. Williams and Carpenter were the lone Sailfish to crack double figures while freshman big Jada Garbutt finished with nine points and six boards behind a strong fourth quarter. 

The Sailfish will attempt to get into the win column when they host Florida Southern at Rubin Arena on Feb. 20 at 5 pm. The Mocs are 1-2 on the year after splitting games with Florida Tech and falling at Barry in overtime earlier this season.