SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo women's basketball team is set to host the Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Challenge at the Marion Bowman Activities Center to open the Lions' 2018-19 season. The challenge will feature games Friday and Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. respectively. Visit the 2018 GSC/SSC Challenge Tournament page for more details.
 
GSC/SSC Challenge Schedule
Friday, November 8
1 p.m.                   Florida Southern vs Lee
3 p.m.                   Saint Leo vs Shorter
Saturday, November 9
1 p.m.                   Florida Southern vs Shorter
3 p.m.                   Saint Leo vs Lee
 
Saint Leo Roster Notes

• Saint Leo returns three upperclassmen; senior guard Asia Royster, junior point guard Gina Brierley, and junior point guard Madelin Lang.
• Delaney Bernard (Guard), Montia Moon (Guard), Alani Gallagher (Forward), and Day Jackson (Forward) all return as sophomores with a wealth of starting experience in 2017-18.
• Seven freshmen and a grad-student transfer fill out the Green and Gold roster.
• Forward, Casey Wortley, hails from Tucson, Arizona, transferring to Saint Leo from Azusa Pacific University.
• The Lions are coached by third year head coach, Anthony Crocitto. In his second season at Saint Leo, Crocitto led the program to a 13-16 finish while earning the second highest SSC wins in program history, going 8-12 in the league. Crocitto led the Lions to back-to-back SSC Tournament appearances. He enters the 2018-19 season with a 22-34 career mark at Saint Leo.
• Saint Leo was picked ninth of the 11 teams in the SSC in the league's preseason poll.

Saint Leo Stat Stories

• Alani Gallagher started 27-of-29 games as a rookie, during which she shot 45.0 percent from the field (100-of-222),  while averaging nine points per game. Off the boards, she grabbed 168 rebounds (50 offensive, 118 defensive), for an average of 5.8 rebounds per game. The forward also managed 16 blocks.
• Starting point guard, Gina Brierley, finished her sophomore season with 215 points going 38.7 percent from the floor (72-of-186), connected for 96 assists, and tallied 26 steals.
• Delaney Bernard led the Lions beyond the arc with 35 from downtown on her way to 156 points. She finished the season shooting 28.7 percent around the circle (35-of-122).

Entering the tournament: Shorter

• Shorter has already seen action at Georgia State University, taking a 73-51 season opening loss.
• Senior forward, Raven Fair, is coming off a 105 points, 101 rebounds 2017-18 season. At Georgia State, she scored 21 points; making 8-of-21 FG, 3-of-10 3FG. Off the glass, she snagged seven rebounds (four offensive, three defensive). In addition, she tallied four steals.
• Sophomore point guard, Jasmine Gaines closed last season with 300 points, averaging 11.5 per game, shooting 44.4 percent from the field. She earned 54 assists and 53 steals. On Friday, she scored six points from three field goals while tallying three assists and six steals.
• Shorter is coached by head coach Tyler Roden, his first season with the Hawks.
• Shorter was selected 12^th of the 13 GSC schools in the league's preseason poll.

Entering the tournament: Lee

• Abby Bertram closed her sophomore campaign with 383 points, averaging 12.4 points per game. She sunk 140-of-313 buckets, compiling a 44.7 field goal percentage while going 29-of-85 around the circle for a 34.1 3-point field goal percentage. In addition to her scoring, she earned 94 assists, 40 steals and 13 blocks.
• Lee graduated offensive presence Erin Walsh and known rebounder Carrie Cheeks. The Flames will look to their roster of six juniors and three seniors to lead the five underclassmen.
• Marty Rowe enters his 15^th season at the helm for the Lee Flames women's basketball program. Rowe has compiled a 372-95 record in his 14 seasons at Lee.
• Lee was polled fourth among the 13 GSC schools in the league's preseason poll.

Entering the tournament: Florida Southern

• Senior guard Camille Giardina finished last season with 598 points, averaging 19.9 points per game. She made 204-of-458 attempts for a 44.5 shooting percentage and made 72-of-166 three-pointers for a .43.4 3-point shooting percentage. In addition, she earned 42 assists and 59 steals.
• Anja Fuchs-Robetin dominated last season on both sides of the ball as the 2018 SSC Player of the Year. She compiled a 54.3 shooting percentage (194-of-357) and was 38.2 percent from 3-point range (21-of-55) while totaling 281 rebounds (87 offensive, 194 defensive). She averaged 9.7 rebounds per game while putting up 18.6 points per game.
• Head coach Betsy Harris enters her fifth year directing the Mocs. Since her time at Florida Southern, Harris has coached eight all-SSC selections, including the 2018 SSC Player of the Year (Anja Fuchs-Robetin) and the 2016 SSC Freshman of the Year (Camille Giardina). Fuchs-Robetin and Giardina earned honorable mention all-America honors from the WBCA following the 2017-18 campaign.
• Florida Southern was predicted to finish at the top of SSC according to the league's preseason poll.

 
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