SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo women's basketball team ended up on the wrong side of a heartbreaking 79-78 decision Wednesday night inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The midweek Sunshine State Conference matchup between Saint Leo and the No. 16 Eckerd College Tritons was decided with less than a second left in regulation. The tight final moved the Green and Gold's overall record to 13-7, 8-4 in the SSC while the Tritons improved their season mark to 13-1, 9-3 in the SSC.
 
"That was an outstanding performance by us against a tough Eckerd team who is easy the top-20 in the country," commented head coach Anthony Crocitto. "I thought Amanda Ulrich was sensational. She is playing her best basketball. Alex Button carried us at times and Kiki McIntyre hit some big shots. In the end, we just couldn't get a rebound. We handled their runs, we hard, we were mentally challenged and handled it."
 
Amanda Ulrich earned a team-high 21 points followed by Tori Lesko with 15 and Alex Button with 13. Ayanna Trigg wrapped up the night just shy of a double-double with 13 rebounds and nine points. Kiki McIntyre also added nine points into the Lions' efforts.
 
Saint Leo held a couple possession lead over Eckerd for most of the game but it was always a battle of runs between the two programs. It came down to the wire tied at 70 with 3:37 remaining on the clock. Macie Knapp hit a good three for the Tritons, cut quickly by a jumper by Trigg. Eckerd earned a stop and tallied a layup to get back up by three, 75-72. Ulrich's jumper was matched by a pair of Triton free throws, 77-74, with one-minute remaining. Trigg hit another jumper in the paint and her team forced a turnover. With the ball back in McIntyre's hands, she drove and converted a layup to lift Saint Leo 78-77 with six seconds left. Eckerd's toss went up, hit the rim, and was met by a putback bucket by Maya Price to bring home the win to St. Petersburg, Fla.
 
"What we need to do is get a big chip on our shoulder and get ready to win our next SSC game. I'm proud of these ladies. We will prepare for it and earn it as Embry-Riddle is also a well-coached team," concluded Crocitto.
 
Saint Leo will head to Daytona Beach, Fla. on Saturday, Jan 29 to tip-off against the Embry-Riddle Eagles at 4:00 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.