ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Saint Leo University women's basketball team dropped a Wednesday night matchup against hosting Eckerd College by a 79-55 final tally in the McArthur Center.
The Lions fall to 9-16 on the season with a 4-11 tally in Sunshine State Conference play while the Tritons improve to 21-6 and 11-5 in SSC matchups.
Guard Aaliyah Ramirez was the scoring leader for the Green and Gold, finishing the evening with 17, a career-high for the sophomore. Junior Chachi Guzman tallied 13 rebounds while adding nine points and six assists. Freshman Mary Redmond added 11 points to round out the scoring for the Green and Gold.
Eckerd jumped to an early lead despite a strong opening half from sophomore Ramirez. The guard scored seven points in the first 10 minutes of the opening stanza to lead the Lions. Guzman muscled seven boards from the Tritons to limit the second chance shots for Eckerd. Defense allowed the Green and Gold to bridge the early deficit as Ramirez stayed hot to pull the Lions to a 23-21 margin.
Redmond took to the perimeter, scoring a pair of three-pointers in the late minutes of the first half. Ramirez shot a perfect 5-for-5 before the break, totaling 11 points, eclipsing her previous season-high in 20 minutes. Eckerd would build traction, ending the opening half with a 41-28 lead over the Lions.
The Tritons were led by Ivana Grbic and Trine Kasemagi, as the tandem scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Grbic added seven boards for Eckerd in the opening half.
Eckerd could not be slowed in the second frame, as the team quickly accelerated to a 52-30 lead. The Lions were unable to stymie the Triton attack as the offensive efforts of Kasemagi and Grbic totaled 35 points across the game to conclude the contest with a 79-55 win for host Eckerd.
The Lions will close out the regular season at home, hosting Nova Southeastern University on Saturday, Feb. 28 for a 2 p.m. start. Saint Leo will honor the efforts of its seniors as well as host a pink out and fundraiser, collecting donations for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
Live stats as well as a live video webcast will be made available through www.saintleolions.com.
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.
