November 5, 2010 Contact: Scott Jamison 352.395.5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu
SF WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BRANDT, EDWARDS LEAD SAINTS PAST ST. PETE, 59-56
Gainesville, FL – The Santa Fe Saints (1-1) dominated the first half and held on in the second to earn their first win of the season Friday night against a feisty St. Pete College (0-1) team.
“It was nice to see us come out with a lot energy and excitement,” said Coach Chanda Stebbins. “We worked on some specific things with our presses and defense during the week that I thought we came out and executed well.”
SF guards Kindsay Brandt (pictured top) and Stephanie Edwards (pictured bottom) each had 12 points to lead the Saints offensively. Leandra King was a force down low on defense grabbing six rebounds to go with five blocked shots, helping control the interior. She also pitched in nine points.
“Our post players executed better tonight that they did in the first game,” Stebbins said. “Leandra had another great game tonight. She’s a difference maker in the paint. She was second in the state last season in blocked shots and she’s continued that this year.”
The Saints jumped out to an early lead in the first half behind a strong effort from Demisha Mills, who scored all eight of her points in the first seven minutes of the game.
“Demisha played with a ton of energy in the first half,” said Stebbins. “She was aggressive to the basket and also did a nice job kicking the ball out.” Santa Fe continued to stretch the lead with solid shooting and play smothering defense, allowing the Titans to score only two field goals the final 13 minutes of the period. Brandt and Stephanie Coney closed out the first half with seven combined points to give SF their largest lead of the game at 38-21.
“On offense we were much more patient tonight and did a much better job overall,” said Stebbins. “Our shot selection was much improved. Hopefully that will continue to get better. The one thing I would like to see is our posts get more touches. We have some talented players in the paint and we need to do a better job getting them some looks.”
St. Pete came alive in the second half and went on a 27-9 run over the first ten minutes to take their first lead, 48-47, since the 17 minute mark of the first half. Stephanie Edwards answered for SF, knocking down an off balance layup to give the Saints back the lead, this time for good.
Brandt, Jasmine Blakemore and King each made shots over the next three minutes to push the lead to 55-49 with 6:36 to go. The Titans would get back within three, but the Saints had enough left to hang on for the victory.
“St. Pete is a very is good team,” Stebbins said. “They are very well coached and didn’t give in at all. They’re going to win a lot of games this season.” The Saints had five players with eight or more points, including Brandt with 12, Edwards 12, King 9, Mills 8 and Blakemore 8.
“I really liked the balanced scoring we showed tonight,” said Stebbins. “We had a lot of unselfish play that led to some easy baskets.”
Santa Fe takes on Palm Beach State College (0-1) tomorrow in the second day of the Cabot Lodge Tip-Off Classic at 4:00pm.
“Palm Beach is a very good team,” said Stebbins. “It is going to be a tough game. They shoot the ball well, they play good defense and are very disciplined. We will have to limit our mistakes and execute like we did in the first half tonight.”
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