Lions Ledger: Basketball Heads to Florida Southern

Jan 11, 2022

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RECORDS: Saint Leo 10-5, 5-2 SSC | Florida Southern 7-6, 5-2 SSC
Saint Leo Saint Leo looks to add some separation in the conference standings going into their matchup with fourth place Florida Southern. The Lions are currently riding high having won seven of their last eight games, coming off a 62-48 win over Lynn on Saturday. Amanda Ulrich and Kiki McIntyre both put up 18 point performances, Ayanna Trigg grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and contributed 16 points, and the Lions as a team had 27 points off turnovers.
On the season, Amanda Ulrich has paced the Green and Gold offense with a team-high average of 18.1 points per game. She is helped by Ayanna Trigg (12.4), Kiki McIntyre (11.4), and Alex Button (11.2) who also average double figure scoring. Tori Lesko is just shy of averaging double digits with 9.9 ppg. Inside the paint, Ayanna Trigg has racked up a .645-shooting percentage while Ulrich and Button have kept opponent's busy beyond the circle. Trigg leads the Lions off the window with 7.8 rebounds per game followed by Lesko with 6.4 rpg. Meanwhile, McIntyre has registered 38 steals, 39 assists, and six blocks as the team's starting point guard.
Ulrich is the SSC's most dangerous player with the ball. She leads the league in scoring with 18.1 ppg recording 90 field goals, 32 three-pointers, and 59 free throws in 15 games. Ayanna Trigg is also in the top-20 at the 12th spot with 12.4 ppg. Kiki McIntyre sits at 15th with 11.4 points per game. Off the boards, Ayanna Trigg has snagged the most rebounds in the conference with 109 for an average of 7.8 rebounds per game. The graduate student forward has grabbed 43 offensive and 66 defensive lost balls off the iron. When she isn't helping the Lions' possession game, Trigg has the highest field goal percentage shooting a .645-percent from the floor. At point guard, McIntyre has tallied the most steals among SSC compeition with 38, 2.5 steals per game.
Florida Southern returns to action looking to run their win streak to five games and keep pace with the Lions in the SSC standings. The Mocs recently made it four in a row after a 56-55 win over nationally-ranked Eckerd on Saturday. Whitney Jacob came up clutch with a game-winning three-pointer with 3.3 seconds left in the ballgame. Jacob came off the bench and put up a game-high 23 points, going 7-16 from the floor and 7-8 at the charity stripe. Julia Jenike led all starters with 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Jacob leads the Mocs this year averaging 17.8 points per game, while Jenike is not too far behind with 13.4 points per game. Jacob also leads the team in rebounds with 6.3 per game, steals with 21 on the season, and blocks with 12. One of the few categories she doesn't lead the Mocs in is three-point percentage, in which Jenike leads the ballclub at .431.
Jacob sits right behind Ulrich at second in the conference in scoring with 17.8 points per game. She's also fifth in field goal percentage, ninth in rebounding, and fourth in blocks.
HISTORY:This will be the first matchup between Saint Leo and Florida Southern since January 29, 2020 after their game last season was canceled. That game in 2020 was a 67-65 win for the Mocs at the Bowman Center. Alex Button led the Lions with a game-high 29 points, going 6-10 from behind the arc.
Current SSC Standings: Saint Leo: 3 | Florida Southern: 4
Both Saint Leo and Florida Southern are receiving votes in the South Region of the D2SIDA Women's Basketball Regional polls.

RECORDS: Saint Leo 5-8, 2-5 SSC | Florida Southern 6-9, 3-4 SSC
Saint Leo returns to action after a week off. Due to covid protocols with Lynn, their game this past Saturday against the Knights was called off, giving the Lions a win in the conference standings. Their most recent game was an 88-80 loss to Tampa last Wednesday, where Francis Sio put up a game-high 25 points and Frank Webb, Jr. contributed 23.
Leading the way for the Lions offensively is Francis Sio. The Charlotte, N.C. native reached the century mark for his career against Tampa. After his 25-point night, he now holds 1,012 points in his career, and is leading the team in scoring this year with 14.9 points per game, with a .459 field goal percentage and .451 three-point percentage. Sio currently ranks 14th in the SSC in scoring.
Frank Webb Jr. leads the SSC in steals with 49, averaging 4.1 per game. In addition, he currently sits as the sixth highest rebounder in the SSC with 96 (15 O - 87 D) after 12 games played. He totaled 11 on Wednesday against Tampa. Webb Jr. has also earned the league's second most assists count at 70 for an average of 5.8 per game.
Florida Southern looks to continue their winning ways after a hard-fought win at Eckerd on Saturday, defeating the Tritons 66-63. The Mocs were led by E.J. Dambreville who put up a team-high 27 points. He was 9-20 from the floor and 5-11 from three point range. He also contributed 10 rebounds. Jack Casale grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, and put up double figures with 12 points.
On the season, it's Xavier Rhodes leading the way for the Mocs, averaging 15.2 points per game, which is 13th best in the SSC. He also ranks ninth in the conference in field goal percentage at 49%. Jack Casale is averaging 13.8 points per game for the Mocs, and ranks fifth in the SSC in three-point percentage at .434. E.J. Dambreville sits at second in the conference in rebounding, averaging 11.2 rebounds per game.
HISTORY: This will be the rematch of the last season's Sunshine State Conference Tournament Championship Game, in which the Lions defeated the Mocs, 83-70, at the Bowman Center. Rusty Moorer had a game-high 28 points for the Lions, while Frank Webb, Jr. put up 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds en route to securing Saint Leo's first conference tounament championship.
Current SSC Standings: Saint Leo: 10 | Florida Southern: 7

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