ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Saint Leo women's basketball team was unable to shake off a slow start at Eckerd Wednesday night inside the McArthur Center. The Tritons defended their home court in the midweek Sunshine State Conference battle, 77-56.
 
Eckerd (4-0, 2-0 SSC) ended the first quarter on a 12-2 run to hand the Lions an 11-point deficit, 25-14. The Tritons added four more to their lead in the second quarter as Maya Price was on her way to a 23 point game. Down by 15 (45-30), Saint Leo readjusted at the half and put up a fight led by Ayanna Trigg, who tallied five rebounds and four points in the third quarter alone. Despite the efforts, Saint Leo would be unable to find a late rally as the Tritons' shooting stayed hot.

"I'm proud of the fight in the second half against a very, very good club," said head coach Anthony Crocitto. "We just can not give up 45 points in the first half and then 30 in the second half. We also can't continually start the game in foul trouble. It is very early in a long season and we must find a way to get better."

Crocitto continued pivoting his attention to his two rookies, "Triniti Youngblood and Chynna Mattair gave us good minutes off the bench. I know they will continue to build on it."
 
Amanda Ulrich paced the Green and Gold's offense with 12 points followed by Triniti Youngblood with a career-high 11 points. The true freshman from Tampa, Fla. went 4-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line in 25 minutes of action. Chynna Mattair contributed in four minutes of work in which she sunk an electrifying three-pointer. 
 
Ayanna Trigg worked coast to coast for Lions. The graduate student from Tampa, Florida put up eight points and a game-high seven rebounds snagging a pair of offensive boards and five defensive rebounds.
 
Tori Lesko shook things up with nine points, two steals, two blocks, and three boards.
 
Saint Leo (3-4, 1-1 SSC) will look to bounce back on Saturday, Dec. 4 in another SSC tip-off against Embry-Riddle, this time back in the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The Lions and Eagles are set for an early afternoon meeting starting at 2:00 p.m.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo women's basketball program, 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.