SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo University women's basketball team battled to a 48-41 victory over Mercy on the first day of the Saint Leo Holiday Classic. The Lions extended their win streak to seven with the win. Alayna Harris (12), and Alanis Diaz (11) led the home team scoring double-digits. Saint Leo improves to 8-2 overall on the season.  

Mercy took control of the game early maintaining the lead for the entire first half and midway through the third quarter. Jenni Whitlow gave the home team its first lead of the game at the 5:57 mark of the third quarter for a 27-26 advantage and never looked back.

The first half of the game saw Mercy taking an early lead, but Saint Leo responded with a stellar third quarter, outscoring the Mavericks, 16-7. Harris led the charge with an impressive performance, contributing total 12 points, four assists, and eight rebounds. The Lions' defense played a crucial role, limiting Mercy's opportunities and forcing turnovers.

The Lions outscored the Mavericks, 29-17 in the second half. The home team forced 13 turnovers and capitalized for 10 points.
Saint Leo head coach Anthony Crocitto's thoughts after the win:

"We knew they would come out with a lot of energy and try to hit us hard early so we had to be prepared for a journey. Our ladies showed extreme resilience and executed everything. We asked as best as they could to get this victory."

"Alayna Harris, played one of her best games in a Saint Leo uniform, and dominated both ends of the floor at times while Alanis Diaz played exceptional defense and did a great job drawing some fouls on an extremely tough Mercy defense."

"We are very fortunate to rotate a lot of players through foul trouble, and I thought we stuck together as well as we could given the comeback victory."

"The Mercy program has grown by leaps and bounds, and that's a testament to the head coach as he's done a good job in the northeast region and I thought they played really hard and played very good defense."

"We've played some exceptional defense at times this year, and I am so proud of the effort, across-the-board in practice. If we can continue to trend upward defensively, our limits are endless."

"Hope to see everyone tomorrow at 3:30pm at the Bowman. Wear an ugly Christmas sweater."



Saint Leo returns to the hardwood for day two of the Saint Leo Holiday Classic. Two games will be played tomorrow, Columbus State will take on Mercy at 1 p.m. and the Lions will take on D'Youville at 3:30 p.m.

For the latest news, updates, and information on Saint Leo Women's Basketball, 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.