WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team played its first home game of the season today as they hosted West Alabama at Rubin Arena. After a high-scoring opening half, the Sailfish were able to grind out a win in the second as they prevailed 73-65. The Tigers drop to 1-3 while PBA's record goes to 2-1 with the victory.

Both sides came out running and gunning in the first ten minutes of play. The 'Fish were led by Kash Ayuso who scored nine of her game-high 28 points in the first, while her fellow backcourt mate Darria Whitley finished with 20. The Sailfish shot 9-of-19 from the floor and 2-of-5 from three as they outscored the Tigers 22-20 in the first quarter.

The PBA hot shooting continued in the second quarter of play as they scored 21 points. They hit four more threes on eight attempts and finished 7-of-18 in the quarter from the field. Whitley and Ayuso carried the offensive burden, scoring ten and eight points respectively as the Sailfish led 43-38 at the half.

The tempo of the second half changed as the visiting Tigers switched to a zone defensively. PBA struggled to adjust as they scored just nine points in the quarter. Despite their own struggle on the offensive side, they didn't let that affect their defensive effort as they held West Alabama to 2-of-14 shooting. 

In crunch time, the Sailfish were able to come through when it mattered most as Ayuso closed out the game with 11 fourth-quarter points. The Sailfish were able to get their shooting percentage up to 40 percent while holding the Tigers to 23 percent. Jahnae Midget provided a needed offensive spark in the second half as she finished the game with ten points and ten rebounds off the bench. Down by three with six minutes left, Ayuso scored the next seven points and PBA never looked back on their way to victory by eight. 

The Sailfish will stay close to home during the Thanksgiving break and return to action in Fort Lauderdale. They face Daemen on Friday and Purdue Northwest on Saturday.