MIAMI SHORES, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team returned to action tonight as they played their first Sunshine State Conference game of the season at Barry. After a strong opening half of play to give the Sailfish an early lead, the Buccaneers came from behind in the second half to take down PBA 75-64. The Sailfish drop to 3-3 overall on the season and start SSC play 0-1.

The Sailfish got off to a strong start in the opening quarter in the paint as Mariyah Fletcher and Ashleigh Boulin were active on the offensive glass. Boulin led the Sailfish with six points while Fletcher had four along with leading scorer Kash Ayuso. The 'Fish shot 40 percent from the field in the opening ten minutes as Claire Davis provided a nice spark off the bench with four early points and two rebounds. PBA handled the Barry press well and found their way to the free-throw line where they converted on 6-of-7 attempts and led 23-13 after the first quarter.   

PBA stayed in control of the game thanks in part to their work on the defensive side of the floor. They held the Bucs to 26 percent shooting in the opening half and continued to control the paint outscoring the home side 16-6 down low and were plus five in second-chance points. Ayuso led the way with six points in the second quarter for the 'Fish as they led at the half 35-26.

Both sides shot the ball well out of the halftime locker room, but it was the Bucs who cut into the Sailfish lead by hitting on 5-of-8 from three. Jillian Schenk tried her best to counter the three-point barrage by going 2-of-3 from deep on her own. PBA hit on seven straight shots in the quarter and shot over 50 percent but committed six turnovers and were outscored 26-19 in the third. The 'Fish still led by two heading to the fourth quarter. 

The Bucs carried over the momentum they garnered in the third quarter into the fourth as they outscored the Sailfish 23-10 to close out the game in the last quarter and finished on a 16-2 run. Barry shot 47 percent from the field and were 8-of-13 from three in the second half. After handling the Barry full-court press early on, the Sailfish struggled in the final three quarters as they committed 21 of their 23 turnovers in the last three quarters of the game and 14 in the second half. To go along with their giveaways the Sailfish shot 3-of-11 from the field in the final ten minutes as the Bucs stormed back in the second half. 

Four Sailfish finished the game in double-figures, led by Davis who shot 5-of-9 off the bench and finished with 14 points. Boulin, Ayuso, and Fletcher all finished with 12 points each, while Fletcher was the most efficient of the trio from the floor and added nine rebounds. Karyzma Pierre logged a season-high 24 minutes off the Sailfish bench and finished with ten rebounds. Ayuso had six assists to go along with her 12 points but also had six turnovers as she missed her backcourt mate Darria Whitley who remained out due to injury.

The 'Fish return home this Saturday when they play host to Rollins at Rubin Arena at 2 pm. The Tars entered today with a 1-3 record and faced off with the Florida Tech Panthers tonight in their conference opener.