December 29, 2012
Contact: Scott Jamison
352.395.5616
scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu
SF WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Ocala, FL – Santa Fe sophomore forward Paulina Zaveckaite had one of the best games of her collegiate career on Saturday night against FCSAA #5 Pensacola State College in the SF Holiday Classic, scoring 21 points and pulling down a career high 25 rebounds.
“Very proud of our team and their effort tonight,” said SF Coach Chanda Stebbins. “This was a true team win. We had different players step up at different times and get it done for us. Paulina was a force down low and did a great job rebounding and scoring inside.”
Pensacola (10-4) controlled the early going, leading until the 8:49 mark when Zaveckaite hit a layup to give the Saints the lead 19-18. The teams traded buckets until a 6-2 run by SF put FCSAA #7 Santa Fe (12-5) in front 28-24 at the half time break.
The Saints came out of the locker room on a mission, scoring the first six points to stretch the advantage to 34-24 just three minutes in to the second frame. Pensacola didn’t score their first basket until the 16:41 mark when Shomari Kendrick made a short jumper.
The Pirates cut the SF lead to two on two different occasions but each time the Saints responded with baskets. Up by just two, back to back three pointers by Tiara Thompson and Lonna Turner with under three minutes remaining were the daggers SF needed to put the game away. Free throws down the stretch and a breakaway layup by Jaquasha Sesler capped the victory.
“I was extremely impressed with our toughness tonight,” said Stebbins. “It was a physical game and we stood toe to toe all game.”
The Saints outrebounded the Pirates 63-48. Both teams shot just 32.9% from the field.
“It was nice to get a win after shooting so poorly in the first half (24.4%)”, said Stebbins. “We were able to turn it around in the second half, took some better shots and capitalized on the easy baskets we were missing early in the game.”
Tiara Thompson finished in double figures with 14 points and six rebounds, Monique Bunk had 13 points and five assists and Lonna Turner scored seven points to go with 10 rebounds.
Santa Fe continues in the SF Holiday Classic on Sunday when they battle the FCSAA #2 Gulf Coast State College Commodores at 4:00 PM.
For complete schedules and more information on Saints Basketball, please visit www.sfcollege.edu/athletics. To see game photos and other updates, follow Santa Fe College Athletics on Facebook.
-30-