WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team returned home to play their first 2024 game of the season at Rubin Arena tonight. The Sailfish were in control throughout the game as they led wire to wire on their way to their fifth-straight victory 72-56. PBA's record moves to 8-5 overall with the victory and 2-3 in Sunshine State Conference play.

The Sailfish shot the ball well from the floor in the opening quarter tonight as they jumped out to an early lead. PBA hit on 8-of-14 shots in the opening quarter, led by Ashleigh Boulin who scored six points. The biggest issue the 'Fish faced was their ball security as they committed 16 first-half turnovers. That helped keep the Panthers in the game as they struggled to shoot against a strong PBA defense as Florida Tech shot just 25 percent. The Sailfish led 18-11 after ten minutes of play.

Both sides played a sloppy, low-scoring, second quarter as PBA shot just 3-of-8 from the field. They managed to get to the line for a majority of their offense where they converted on 6-of-7 attempts. The 'Fish held the Panthers to 30 percent shooting in the half and led 32-25.

PBA came out of the half and played their best stretch of ball in the third quarter. After the Panthers got as close as four points, leading scorer Kash Ayuso found her game after a subpar first half for her. After just one point in the first half, she looked reneergized and scored nine of her team-high 16 points in the third quarter. The Sailfish did a better job eliminating sloppy turnovers and handling the Panther pressure defense as they committed half as many turnovers in the second half. 

The Sailfish began to pull away in the second half as Jillian Schenk converted on two four-point plays on the night and Zoe Wortinger shot the ball well off the bench, finishing with nine points. Karyzma Pierre played her usual strong floor game and defense but had her best offensive game of the season as she finished with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting. Boulin finished one rebound shy of a double-double as she had 13 points and 9 rebounds. The teams-leading rebounder Mariyah Fletcher was strong again on the inside as she pulled down 12 rebounds.

The fifth-straight win for the Sailfish puts them in striking position within the league as they are one of four sides with two SSC wins. The Sailfish have a break this weekend before returning to action in one week at Embry-Riddle. The Eagles are 8-3 overall and 2-2 in league play.