SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo women’s basketball team managed to end their 2008-09 season on a high note as they defeated visiting Palm Beach Atlantic 75-68 in non-conference action from the Marion Bowman Activities Center on Senior Day.  The Lions got 15 points from senior Nichole Tyler and 14 from senior Marquita Fenn as they outlasted the visiting Sailfish, who only traveled with six players because of injuries.

The Lions close the season 11-16 and say farewell to Tyler and Fenn as well as Sabrina Schmitt and Melissa Guerero.

With a starting lineup that saw all four senior in it, the Lions found themselves in a back-and-forth battle with the Sailfish in the early going.  The fresh legs by PBA allowed them to stay even with Saint Leo throughout the first media timeout.

The Lions would managed to open a small margin on the Sailfish as they jumped out to a six-point lead on a Dominique Daniels layup with 8:50 left in the first.  Palm Beach would respond by going on a 7-0 run to retake the lead just three minutes later.

After two minutes of lead changes, the Lions grabbed the lead for the remainder of the half on a Fenn trey.  Nichole Tyler and Kiara Bradley followed that up with consecutive three-pointers and would head to the lockers up 36-35.

A cold opening of the second half saw Palm Beach jump out to a six point lead as they held the advantage through the first 10 minutes of the second period.

With the game knotted for the fifth time at 7:07 to go, Tyler would sink another trey that handed the Lions the lead for good.

About the same time that trey was heading through the net, the visitors’ legs began to go away.  With only six players, PBA pushed four of their starting five past 38 minutes on the hardwood and it showed at the end.

Saint Leo would extend their lead to double-digits and would post the 75-68 win.

Saint Leo was outshot by the visitors 43 percent to 36 percent, but the Lions nailed 12 treys while PBA only connected on two attempts from behind the arc.  Saint Leo also connected on 90 percent of their free-throws.

Although the Lions did not qualify for postseason play, Saint Leo posted an impressive finish for the season and managed to send their senior class out in style.