SAINT LEO, Fla. – The #8 Saint Leo Lions fell 78-47 to the #1 Florida Southern College Moccasins in the Sunshine State Conference quarterfinals on Wednesday. The loss marks the close of the 2017-18 Saint Leo women's basketball season with a 13-16 overall record, 8-12 SSC.

Head Coach Anthony Crocitto said, "I'm proud of the season, especially considering the injuries we had this year and the adjustments we had to make, but I'm not excited to loss by 30. We cut it to six, we were playing really well but all of a sudden the magic was gone. I don't know where it went, we are going to look at the film. I know we took a couple fast shots that didn't go but they made us pay really quick for having some success. Again, we had some great development this year; Alani Gallagher, Gina Brierley, Day Jackson, Madelin Lang, Nikira Hooks. We have a lot to be proud of but we didn't want to loss by 30. I'm excited about who we have coming back but I'm not excited to not practice tomorrow."

Crocitto continued, "I really appreciate all the fans coming out tonight. We have been shown so much support. It was great having Fran Reidy, our Athletic Director, Passard Dean, Barbara Caldwell, my family, I can't name them all because there are so many great supporters. Having that support just makes you work harder."

 
The Basics
Final Score: Florida Southern 78, Saint Leo 47
Location: Lakeland, Fla. | George W. Jenkins Field House  
Records: FSC (23-4, 17-3 SSC) | SLU (13-16, 8-12 SSC)
 
How It Happened...
1Q | Saint Leo had trouble finding the hoop in the first 10 minutes of play. The Lions tallied five points from a jumper, free throw and layup. Day Jackson scored a jumper at 5:52. Gina Brierley was sent to the charity stripe at 5:09. Four icy minutes passed until Alani Gallagher added two more to the Lions count at 1:07. | FSU 18-5 |
2Q | Saint Leo's offense got to work. The Lions edged the Mocs 16-14 in the second quarter. All of Saint Leo's points came from inside the circle, going 0-6 around the arc, yet maintaining a .381 field goal percentage (8-12). The back and forth action allowed only one run larger than three points for Saint Leo. Gallagher's layup followed by a pair from Izabell Skoogh free throws moved the scoredboard to 30-21 at 00:58. | FSU 32-21 |
3Q | Jackson's jumper combined with Brierley's three-pointer cut the Mocs lead to six points, 32-26 at 8:29. The Mocs struck back with a 15-point run, 47-26 at 4:23. Saint Leo scored 11 more points highlighted by Brierley's down town bomb at 2:14 and Delaney Bernard's three-pointer at 00:28. | FSU 64-37 |
4Q | The Lions posted a 7-0 run from 6:58 to 3:06, 68-44. Skoogh' s slick pass assisted Nikira Hooks' jumper in the corner of the paint. Gallagher closed the Lions' scoring season on the free throw line. | FSU 78-47 |
 
Points to Note

• Alani Gallagher scored 10 points, four rebounds to close our her rookie year. Gallagher finished with 261 points averaging 9.0 points per game. Off the window, she grabbed 168 rebounds averaging 5.8 per game.
• Gina Brierley scored nine points while earning four assists. She closes her sophomore campaign with 215 points averaging 8.0 points per game while racking up 96 assists.
• Saint Leo topped Florida Southern in the second quarter 16-14.

For Florida Southern

• The Mocs 32 point third quarter undid the Lions work in the second quarter to shorten Florida Southern's lead to 11 at the half.
• Anja Fuchs-Robertin well over her 18.0 points per game average with 26 points. She also led the Mocs' off the glass with seven rebounds.
• Camille Giardina also scored above her 19.6 points per game average with a 21-point performance.
• Florida Southern will advance, hosting #4 Barry on Saturday, March 3 at 5:00 p.m. in the George W. Jenkins Field House.

 
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.