DELAND, Fla. (November 30, 2018) – Playing in its fourth and final exhibition game of the 2018-19 season, the Webber International University women's basketball team put a scare into NCAA Division-I Stetson University before ultimately falling to the Hatters 80-52 on Friday at the Edmunds Center during the annual Volusia Country Elementary School game. 

The Warriors battled tough in the first half and entered the locker room only down by nine at 38-29, and then Webber began the second half with a big 8-0 run to get within one. The run started with the fourth 3-pointer by Briana Williams on the first play of the half, featured a layup by Abby Unis, and was then finished off with three free throws by Breyonna Reed with 8:17 on the clock in the third quarter to make it 38-37.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, the turning point in the game came only a minute later with Reed again at the free throw line. After the junior point guard came up short on two free throws that could have tied the game or given Webber the lead, Stetson proceeded to take advantage with an and-one on its next possession as the Hatters went on an 8-0 run.

After a score by Taniya Patrick on the dish from Kadejah Huggins stopped the 8-0 run, Stetson continued to put the pressure on with a 9-0 run before ultimately ending the third quarter on a 25-5 run overall to lead 63-42.

Head Women's Basketball Coach Grady Morrell said, "We played very well up until the media timeout in the third quarter, and I can't be mad about that. The crazy thing is, I believe, we just do not know how good we are yet."

Earlier in the game, it was a great start for the Warriors, who led 7-1 on back-to-back layups from Reed and a three by Williams.

Then, after a 10-0 Stetson run, another layup by Reed made it 11-9 as she accounted for six of the Warriors' first nine points. Not to be outdone, Williams then connected on her second three of the game to give her six early points, bringing Webber to within one at 14-13 with 1:12 left in the opening quarter, which would end with a bang for the Warriors on a buzzer-beating three by Eletra Graham to make it an 18-16 Warrior deficit after one.

Just like it did in the first and third quarters, Webber started the second quarter on a positive note as a three by Dysheka Price on the assist from Huggins gave the Warriors a short-lived 19-18 lead.

It was a back-and-forth start to the second quarter overall as after a three by the Hatters on their next possession and a jumper by Graham knotted the score up at 21-21, another three by Stetson on its next possession made it 24-21, jumpstarting yet another 10-0 Stetson run.

Williams would go on to finish with 14 points on 80 percent shooting from three (4-5), and Reed finished with 11 points on 50 percent shooting from the field while also adding two steals.

Patrick finished with eight points, a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks. Graham also had eight points, and Weller added six boards.

Although it was an exhibition for the Warriors (3-3), the win was the first of the regular season for Stetson (1-6).

It was the third meeting between the two teams in three years and was the fourth all-time meeting between the programs with the Hatters never losing. Webber fell to Stetson 67-30 during the 2017-18 season as after the Warriors trailed only 18-14 after 10 minutes, Webber was held to 16 points the rest of the way, scoring eight in the second quarter, two in the third and six in the fourth. The Hatters used a 27-0 second-half run in that one to break the game open. In 2016-17, the Warriors fell to Stetson 92-54 after trailing 21-9 after one quarter and allowing 20 points or more in all four quarters.

Friday's matchup with Stetson hopefully served as a warmup for the Warriors, who will now face a quick turnaround tomorrow on Saturday, December 1, as Webber returns to The Sun Conference action for its all-important matchup against Crooked Lake rival Warner University at 1 p.m.