December 29, 2011 Contact: Scott Jamison 352.395.5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu
SF WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PENSACOLA HANDLES SANTA FE, 74-56
Gainesville, FL – The NJCAA #5 ranked Pensacola State College Pirates (11-1) defeated the Santa Fe Saints (5-11) on Thursday evening in the first day of the Cabot Lodge Holiday Classic, outscoring SF by nine points in each half in route to the 18 point victory.
“Pensacola is a very good team,” said SF Coach Chanda Stebbins. “They are one of the most talented and athletic teams we will face all season and they did a nice job tonight. I thought we had some good moments, but came out a little flat in the second half and that really hurt our chances.”
Pensacola took an early lead in the first half and built the margin to 28-19 with seven minutes to go. The Saints fought back and used a 12-4 run to cut the lead to 32-31 at the 2:30 mark. The Pirates answered with an 8-0 run of their own, sparked by two Darnisha Hamilton three pointers.
Cassandra Brown, seeing her first action of the year for Santa Fe, hit a jumper and Stephanie Coney added a free throw with six seconds left in the first period to make the score 40-34. A desperation half court heave with three seconds left by Brandy Broome found the mark and the Pirates led 43-34 at the break.
PSC slowly built their lead in the second half, stretching the margin to as many as 23. The Saints scored eight of the last 11 points of the game for the final score of 74-56. Stephanie Coney led all scorers with 19 points, Alexis Fitts scored 13, Shanice Clark scored five to go with a season high 14 rebounds, and Cassandra Brown scored five with six boards off the bench.
“I was impressed with the way Shanice played tonight,” said Stebbins. “She played hard all game and really fought for rebounds and loose balls. Cassie [Cassandra] gave us a nice boost off the bench and did a solid job in her first game.”
The Saints continue on Friday, December 30 in the Cabot Lodge Holliday Classic when they host NJCAA #7 Gulf Coast State College at 4:00 PM. Santa Fe defeated Gulf Coast 66-60 on November 21 in Gainesville.
For complete schedules and more information on Saints Women’s Basketball, please visit www.sfcollege.edu/athletics. To see game photos and other updates, follow Santa Fe College Athletics on Facebook.
-30-