TAMPA, Fla. – In the first day of the Tampa Thanksgiving Classic, the Saint Leo women's basketball team lost 71-62 versus UMary in a non-conference game, hosted by the University of Tampa on Friday evening.

"UMary is a great program and their depth on the bench is second to none along with how they attacked the glass", said coach Anthony Crocitto. "We can always take away positives in a game like this…I think defensive we looked to block shots well and we transitioned and looked to run the court offensively on the fast break. At times we took poor shots and didn't have good looks at the basket but at the end of the day got to shoot way more efficiently", Crocitto stated. Crocitto also said "We've got a quick turnaround tomorrow as we face Concord, we gotta move on and understand what areas of the game we have to address and improve on. We didn't quit at all and its still early in the season, we'll learn and grown from this game."

Despite four Lions scoring 10 or more points, Saint Leo shot 35.8% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Defensively, the Green and Gold denied six shots and collected 10 steals with 29 rebounds. 26 of the Lions' 62 points came from the paint while Saint Leo also recorded 17 fastbreak points.

Freshman Vanessa McManus scored 16 points and dished out five assists with three boards. Junior Taydra Simpson notched 15 points, three steals, three blocks, two assists, and grabbed a pair of rebounds while going a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor. Redshirt junior Chynna Mattair registered 13 points and two assists while junior Alanis Diaz recorded 11 points and collected seven rebounds and blocked a shot.

The Lions will conclude the Tampa Thanksgiving Classic tomorrow, Saturday November 30 as they compete against Concord in a non-conference bout at 2 p.m.