WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team faced off with Barry for the second time this season at Rubin Arena tonight. The Sailfish defense was on full display as they avenged their previous defeat to the Buccaneers with a 53-51 victory. The Sailfish move to 1-3 on the season with the victory as Barry drops to 3-2.

It was a low-scoring first quarter as both sides struggled to make shots from outside the paint. Sailfish big Gabrielle Nazigian led the Sailfish with five points in the first quarter. The 'Fish held Barry to 18 percent shooting from the floor in the first quarter. The Sailfish shot just 25 percent in the quarter but led 10-8 after the first 10 minutes. 

Scoring picked up in the second quarter as the game stayed within two possessions throughout the first half. The Bucs opened up the second quarter on an 8-0 scoring run over the first two minutes, but the 'Fish answered the run by scoring 15 of the next 20 points. Starting guards Maria Benitez-Zayas and Avree Carpenter led the way in the second quarter scoring five and four points respectively. Mariyah Fletcher pitched in off the bench during the Sailfish run with four points and three rebounds. For the half, the Sailfish were 10-of-34 from the field and were able to hold Barry to 8-of-30 shooting. PBA took a 26-22 lead into the halftime locker room.

The Sailfish were able to come out of the gates strong in the second half and outscore the Buccaneers 15-14 in a low-scoring third quarter. Turnovers had been a problem for the 'Fish early in the season but they were able to limit their turnovers to 14 and force 17 turnovers for the game. Benitez-Zayas was the catalyst to keeping the Sailfish in front as she scored nine of her team-high 17 in the third quarter on 4-of-5 shooting. PBA was buoyed by their outside shooting in the quarter as they went 3-of-6 from three, and carried a five-point lead into the final quarter. 

The Sailfish went cold from the field in the final 10 minutes, shooting 2-of-15 in the quarter. However, the Sailfish were able to ride their stellar defense to limit the Bucs to just 15 points in the closing 10 minutes. The Bucs cut the Sailfish lead to three with 2:50 to go when Benitez-Zayas hit a clutch pull-up 10 footer to keep PBA out in front. Sia Williams scored seven in the final quarter including going 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to ice the game late. PBA survived three late Barry three-pointers in the final 1:30 as the Sailfish claimed the victory 53-51.

PBA finished the game shooting 18-of-62 from the floor, 4-of-16 from three, and 13-of-20 from the line while Barry finished shooting 32 percent and 7-of-23 from three. Maria Benitez-Zayas finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists and Sia Williams chipped in with her second straight double-double, 13 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Sailfish will look to carry over their winning momentum to Wednesday when they travel to Tampa to face the Spartans at 5pm.