WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball season kicked off its 2022-23 campaign tonight by hosting Florida National at Rubin Arena. The Sailfish controlled the game throughout and pulled away after the second quarter to a comfortable 82-56 victory to move to 1-0 on the season.

The Sailfish came out of the gates looking for their footing on the new season as they mixed in new pieces to the squad in their first game action. They start 4-of-11 from the floor and struggled from deep going 1-for-6 in the opening ten minutes of play. They had six turnovers but freshman Claire Davis was a bright spot offensively as she scored six points in the first quarter off the bench.The 'Fish trailed 17-14 after the first quarter of play.

From that point on, it was all PBA for the rest of the night. They turned up the defensive pressure and forced 22 FNU turnovers on the night. The Sailfish outscored the Conqs 24-11 in the second quarter to pull away for good, led by Jahnae Midget who had six and Kash Ayuso who had five in the quarter. PBA shot 69 percent from the field in the second ten minutes of play and finished 54 percent for the half as they led 38-28 at the break.

Up ten at the half, the Sailfish outscored FNU in each of the remaining quarters of play. Mariyah Fletcher had nine of her game-high 15 in the third quarter going 4-of-5 from the field. Darria Whitley provided a spark off the bench for the 'Fish as she finished just short of a triple-double with ten points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. 

Up by over 20, the Sailfish went deep into their bench for the fourth quarter but still managed to outscore FNU 23-18 in the final quarter of play. PBA had four players finish in double-figures for the game and ten different Sailfish scored on the night. PBA outshot Florida National 47 to 30 percent on the night. The major areas of improvement for PBA were the three-point line as they shot just 7-of-30 from deep and cutting down on the 17 turnovers they committed. 

Opening night was a solid tune-up for the Sailfish to start the season. The competition will ramp up as they travel to Florida Southern on Saturday for their next contest. The Mocs are 1-1 early on the season.