LAKE WALES, Fla. (December 2, 2017) – Playing in its third road game in three days and in a hostile environment on Saturday, the Webber International University women's basketball team led at halftime before falling to Warner University 78-71 inside the Turner Athletic Center.
Webber (2-7 overall, 0-3 The Sun Conference) suffered its third straight defeat in the regular season, and also lost its third straight conference game to start the league slate. Warner, meanwhile, saw its record rise to 4-6 overall and 1-3 in The Sun Conference.
The Warriors fought hard in the first half and took a two-point lead into the locker room after making 22-of-24 free throws in the first half, including 15-of-16 in the first quarter alone.
However, the second half is where the tide changed as Webber was outscored 24-15 in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Warriors trailed by 11 twice before getting it down to four at 70-66 with one minute and 20 seconds left. From there, Webber's comeback attempt was stopped as the Royals converted on 8-of-10 free throws during the final minute and four seconds of action.
Ashley Perry led the Warriors with a double-double, finishing with 16 points on 50 percent shooting from the field (4-8) and 80 percent shooting from the free throw line (8-10) while adding 11 rebounds, including five boards on the offensive class. Webber would finish the game outscoring Warner 18-7 on second chance points after pulling down 16 offensive rebounds as a team.
Shayla McPhearson was next with 15 points, 11 of which came in the first half, and finished with two 3-pointers and a perfect 5-for-5 mark from the free throw line.
RayGene Garner finished with 10 points and added seven rebounds and five steals, and was also perfect from the charity strip, converting on eight of eight attempts.
Jakia Davis scored seven points for Webber, and
Breyonna Reed and
Montrese Weller each added six points while Reed also had five steals to match Garner's number.
Webber finished the game shooting an impressive 87.2 percent from the free throw line (34-of-39), but Warner's 11 made 3-pointers were just a little bit too much for the Warriors to overcome.
The Warriors will now take a week off from action before returning to the court on Saturday, December 9, at the College of Coastal Georgia in another Sun Conference matchup. The Warriors and the Mariners will tipoff at 2 p.m. in Brunswick, Georgia.
