SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo women's basketball opened the new year with a 66-53 win over Palm Beach Atlantic, Saturday afternoon at the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
The Lions emerged victorious in what was a bitter defensive struggle against the visiting Sailfish. Saint Leo forced PBA into committing 21 turnovers that yielded 20 points for the Lions, while the Green and Gold allowed just nine points on their 17 turnovers.
Junior Chelsy Springs paced the Lions offensively with 23 points on a 9-of-15 shooting performance from the floor, while sophomore Mary Redmond netted a season-best 17 points behind four three-pointers.
Junior Jone' Akins dished out a season-high five assists to go with her seven points, while running a Saint Leo offense that shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52). Junior Alysia Johnson hauled down nine rebounds. Izabell Skoogh came off the bench to tally seven points for the Lions.
The Basics
Final Score: Saint Leo 66 | Palm Beach Atlantic 53
Location: Bowman Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 4-9 | Palm Beach Atlantic 3-9
How It Happened
1Q | A 7-0 run by the Lions midway through the first quarter helped propel Saint Leo to a 12-3 lead by the 4:18 mark, following a Mary Redmond three-pointer. The Lions answered the visiting Sailfish point-for-point the rest of the way, and carried the nine-point lead to the end of the frame. | SLU 16-7 |
2Q | Saint Leo carried its first quarter momentum into the second, and opened the frame with back-to-back jumpers by Chelsy Springs and Izabell Skoogh. Palm Beach Atlantic briefly knocked the Lions' lead down to single digits with buckets by Janelle Cannon and Nkiru Anyagaligbo, and trailed Saint Leo, 22-13. The Lions outscored the Sailfish 11-4 the rest of the way, thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Redmond and one by Springs, and had a 16-point lead at the halftime intermission. | SLU 33-17 |
3Q | The Sailfish opened the third quarter with a trey by Darzan DeShazier, and quickly added layups by Ayanna Holmes and Cannon to cut the Saint Leo lead to nine, 33-24. A Skoogh foul shot stopped PBA's 7-0 run, but two more buckets by Anyagaligbo and Grim brought the Sailfish to within six, 34-28, with under two minutes to play. Springs had a pair of layups down the stretch to rally the Lions offensively, and Saint Leo's lead stood at eight points at the end of three quarters. | SLU 38-30 |
4Q | Saint Leo charged out with nine straight points to open the fourth, including another trey by Redmond, and stretched its lead to 47-30 by the 7:30 mark. Palm Beach Atlantic rallied with an Anyagaligbo jumper and a pair of Holmes free throws, and later added a layup and three-pointer by Grim to pull. However the Sailfish went on a 0-for-9 shooting stretch from the floor lasting nearly four minutes, while the Lions went 13-of-18 at the free-throw line over the final three minutes to preserve the win. | SLU 66-53 |
Points to Note
- Chelsy Springs' 23-point effort against the Sailfish was her seventh 20-point game this season, and was four points off her season high. It was her 12th double-digit scoring performance this season.
- Mary Redmond's 17 points was one shy of her career best of 18 points, set during her rookie season against Nova Southeastern.
- The Lions' .404 FG percentage was their best shooting performance in the last six outings, going back to the .500 shot by Saint Leo in its 64-60 win over Lynn University on December 5. Saint Leo's 19 made free throws is the most this season.
For the Sailfish
- Palm Beach Atlantic had three players in double figures, led by Hannah Grim with 15 points. Janelle Cannon charted a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Nkiru Anyagaligbo came off the bench to chip on 11 points.
- The Sailfish outrebounded the Lions, 44 to 39, but enjoyed a commanding 17 to 6 advantage on the offensive glass that translated to 12 second-chance points for PBA.
- Palm Beach Atlantic finished the game 6-of-23 (.261 3FG%) from beyond the arc, buoyed by a 5-of-10 mark from three-point range in the fourth quarter.
Up Next
Saint Leo returns to Sunshine State Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 6, when the Lions travel to Melbourne, Fla., to face Florida Tech. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo women's basketball, be sure to 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.
