BOCA RATON, Fla. – Saint Leo's second-half comeback bid came up shy of the mark in a 59-54 loss to Johnson C. Smith University, in day two action at the Lynn University Classic women's basketball tournament at the De Hoernle Sports & Cultural Center.
Freshman Maggie Flynn scored 13 for the Lions, who evened their record at 5-5 with the setback. Senior Kinnara Lewis netted 12 for the Green and Gold, and was a perfect 6-of-6 at the free-throw line.
Junior Monique Bunk and senior Melissa Jackson each finished with nine points, with Bunk handing out seven assists and Jackson matching her season-best effort with 16 rebounds.
Four J.C. Smith players finished in double-figures, paced by Anika Jones with 13 points off the bench. Brielle Newton charted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Golden Bulls, who improved to 10-1 overall with the victory.
Turnovers and rebounding proved to be the difference in the outcome, allowing J.C. Smith to escape with the win despite a slightly better shooting performance by Saint Leo. The Golden Bulls had a 55 to 38 advantage on the boards, including 26 offensive rebounds that led by 15 second-chance points. The Lions managed just nine rebounds on the offensive glass during the afternoon.
Saint Leo was also forced into committing 20 turnovers, leading to 21 J.C. Smith points.
Trailing 35-28 at the break, the Lions briefly overtook the Golden Bulls in the second half and nearly pulled off the comeback victory.
A traditional three-point play by Smith's Lakendra Wilkerson extended the Golden Bulls' lead to 38-28 early in the second stanza.
The Lions took a three-point bite out of that lead with foul shots by Jackson and Lewis, to jump start a 20-9 scoring run for Saint Leo that consumed nearly 12 minutes off the clock. Back-to-back three-pointers by Flynn and Mary Redmond provided the big push during the surge, and a Redmond jumper ended the run with the Lions holding a 49-47 lead with 5:11 to play in the game.
A jumper by Smith's Jones and a pair of free-throws by Bunk left Saint Leo still in front 51-49 at the 3:44 mark, and the Lions appeared to have the upper-hand coming down the stretch.
Five straight points by the Golden Bulls gave J.C. Smith a 54-51 lead, but the Lions knotted the game at 54-all on a Jackson foul shot and a jumper by Abby Peterson with 1:13 to play. J.C. Smith netted five unanswered points over the final minute, allowing the Golden Bulls to seal the win.
Saint Leo finished the game shooting 34.0 percent (17-of-50) from the field, including six three-pointers. The Lions went 14-of-21 at the free-throw line. J.C. Smith struggled to a 32.0 percent (24-of-75) clip from the floor with just a pair of treys, and managed to convert just nine of their 23 free-throw attempts.
The Lions take a break for the holidays and will return to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 3, when they face Sunshine State Conference-rival Florida Tech at 2:00 p.m. in the Bowman Activities Center.
