LAKELAND, Fla. – Saint Leo junior Chachi Guzman tallied 14 points as the Lions dropped a 70-50 Sunshine State Conference women's basketball clash with Florida Southern, Wednesday night at the Jenkins Field House.
Guzman went 5-of-17 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds for the Lions, who fell to 7-15, 2-10 Sunshine State Conference, with the loss. Florida Southern improved to
Freshman Abby Peterson also logged seven boards to go with her six points. Freshman Maggie Flynn also cracked double digits in scoring with 12 points. Junior Jakia Grimsley dished out six assists.
Four Florida Southern players finished in double figures, led by Mariah Harris with 16 points. Jensen Blassage and Christin Strawbridge each tallied 14 for the victors, while Syerra Davis charted 12 points. Strawbridge led all players with nine rebounds.
A 13-0 Florida Southern run to open the second half gave the Mocs a lead they held the rest of the way en route to the win.
The Mocs' second half surge was snapped on a Guzman jumper at the 14:44 mark of the half, which left the Lions trailing 40-31.
Saint Leo rallied with back-to-back buckets by Guzman and senior Kinnara Lewis, followed by a Flynn three-pointer with 9:24 left in the game. The effort pulled the Lions to within five, 46-41, with 9:24 showing on the clock.
The Green and Gold were still within five after a Grimsley layup at the 7:57 mark, and the Lions looked primed to make a comeback run.
Florida Southern scored the next nine points, and outscored Saint Leo 22-7 over the remainder of the game to complete the win.
Saint Leo got hot from three-point range in the opening half, hitting four from beyond the arc on its way to a 29-27 lead at the intermission. Flynn drained a pair of three-pointers, while Guzman and freshman Mary Redmond each one each.
The Lions connected on seven of nine free throw attempts, including a pair of foul shots by Redmond with 1.9 seconds on the clock to give the Green and Gold their halftime margin.
Saint Leo shot 26.6 percent from the field versus Florida Southern, while the Mocs were firing at a 49.1 percent clip. The Lions outperformed the Mocs from the perimeter with a 7-of-32 mark (.219), compared to Florida Southern's 2-of-12 effort (.167) from beyond the arc.
The Lions return to the court on Saturday, Feb. 14, when they travel to Boca Raton, Fla., to take on Lynn University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
For more information on the Saint Leo women's basketball program, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
