TAMPA, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team continued its Sunshine State Conference Tournament run this afternoon in the finals against the Tampa Spartans. Coming off wins over Florida Tech and Rollins in the previous rounds, PBA's three-game winning streak was ended as the Spartans claimed the title 64-50.

The Sailfish offense started off slowly in the opening quarter as they shot 3-for-13 from the floor and were able to score just seven points. Maria Benitez-Zayas was the only Sailfish starter to score a basket while Sia Williams and Taylor Race each hit from the field off the PBA bench. Meanwhile, the Spartans shot 9-of-13 from the field as they were able to get in the paint which led to 19 opening quarter points. 

Avree Carpenter and Sia Williams carried the Sailfish offense as each scored five points and all ten of the PBA points in the second quarter. Tampa used big LaShayla Wright-Ponder often as she scored ten in the first half as the Spartans attempted just three shots from beyond the arc and scored 26 of their 35 first half points in the paint. The Sailfish finished the first-half 12-of-28 and trailed by 18, 35-17. 

Throughout the season and this tournament run, the Sailfish have shown they are capable of making runs and battling back no matter the deficit. They opened the second half on a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of play as Alisa Marlow hit a three, Carpenter went 2-of-2 from the line, and Shekinah Guthrie got on the board with her first deuce as PBA cut the Spartans lead to 11. They got the lead down to 10 for most of the third quarter but were unable to get over the hump and put more game pressure on Tampa. 

Some of the Sailfish mainstays in Guthrie, Benitez-Zayas, and Williams were all hit with four fouls as the Spartans pounded the ball inside all game. This resulted in the Spartans doubling the free-throw attempts that the Sailfish took in the game 11 to 22 and forced the Sailfish deeper into their bench. Avree Carpenter was the lone Sailfish member to reach double figures with ten points, while Benitez-Zayas and Williams scored nine and eight respectively. The Spartans did a good job handling Shekinah Guthrie who had four straight double-doubles for the Sailfish as she was held to four points and three rebounds. For their performances in the tournament, Sia Williams and Shekinah Guthrie were named to the SSC All-Tournament team. 

The Spartans kept the lead above ten the final fourth quarter as the Sailfish hopes of completing a magical SSC run faded. The Spartans shot 46 percent as the Sailfish shot just 33 percent and were 5-of-17 from three. The Sailfish season comes to an end as they finish the year with a 4-7 record against all SSC competition. The Sailfish certainly showed the growth of the program as their run through the SSC tournament was the first time in program history.