WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team faced off with Embry-Riddle today at Rubin Arena. The Eagles entered the game in the middle of the Sunshine State Conference standings and the Sailfish took them down to the wire, as it was a tale of two different halves offensively for PBA, but they came up short in the end 66-61.
PBA started the game off hot from downtown as they connected on 4-of-6 from three in the opening quarter. Alisa Marlow hit three on her own as she led the Sailfish with nine quick points. The 'Fish were a solid 8-of-19 from the field in the quarter, but could have been even better as they missed a handful of layups and shots in the paint early on. PBA won the turnover margin 6-0 in the quarter, but the Eagles were able to shoot 64 percent as the two sides were tied 20-20 after the opening ten minutes of play.
The offense continued to look good for the Sailfish in the second quarter as they put together one of their better halves of the season. PBA scored 21 points in the quarter on 9-of-18 shooting as Kash Ayuso returned to the lineup for the 'Fish and went 3-for-5 with seven points in the quarter. The Eagles were forced into seven more turnovers by the Sailfish defense and PBA led 41-36 at the half.
ERAU turned up the pressure defensively on the Sailfish in the second half. PBA struggled to find the scoring attack they had in the opening half as they scored just nine and eleven points in the third and fourth quarters. Shekinah Guthrie was really the lone bright spot offensively in the second half as she scored 12 of the 20 points in the half and finished with a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds. However, her efforts weren't enough as the Eagles scored 19 in the third quarter to take the lead and were able to knock free-throws down late to hold onto the victory.
PBA outshot ERAU 19-9 in the fourth quarter through turnovers and offensive rebounds but PBA was unable to score on two final offensive possessions as they cut the deficit to one with 1:09 remaining. The Sailfish finished 25-of-65 from the floor, but were 46 percent in the first half and 29 percent in the second half. They finished 7-of-21 from three while the Eagles were 10-of-19. Jahnae Midget was PBA's second-leading scorer as she cracked double-figures with 11 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Marlow finished with nine, while Ayuso scored seven, Mariia Benitez-Zayas added six, and Courtni Demorest added two threes.
The Sailfish drop to 5-18 on the season and will be back in action when they host Lynn on Feb. 16 at Rubin Arena. The Fighting Knights carry a 7-12 record on the season.
