NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (January 12, 2019) – The Webber International University women's basketball team trailed by 15 at halftime but completed the comeback with a big 29-18 advantage in the fourth quarter to defeat Johnson & Wales University 80-75 on Saturday inside the Wildcat Center in North Miami, Florida.

It was in the third quarter where the Warriors began to turn things around and got back into the game, outscoring the Wildcats 18-9 overall and finishing the period on a 12-2 run. Montrese Weller got the run started with a layup and Taniya Patrick accounted for seven of Webber's points during the run while Dariah Bolden finished it off with a 3-pointer during the final minute of the quarter.

Then, heading into the fourth quarter down by only six at 57-51, the Warriors used their momentum to get within four on a layup by Emmarrie Carmen 50 seconds in.

Webber then continued the comeback, getting within two at 63-61 with 5:42 left after a 3-pointer by Weller and a free throw by LeAndra Franklin, and then the Warriors tied it and took the lead on back-to-back layups by Paris Copeland less than 35 seconds later.

A 3-pointer by Franklin then extended the Warriors' lead to five at 68-63 with 4:39 left, capping what was an 11-0 Webber run that featured four steals for Webber, two each by Breyonna Reed and Copeland.

From there, the Wildcats stayed within striking distance, and trailed by only one with a minute and a half left before a free throw by Reed and another layup by Copeland got it back to a four-point margin at 76-72 with 42 seconds left.

Franklin and Copeland then closed it out by converting on both of their free throw attempts with under 10 seconds left.

"We finally took a punch in the mouth and responded like the team I know we can be," commented Head Coach Grady Morrell.

In all, five Warriors scored in double-figures as Patrick finished with a team-high 17 points on 70 percent shooting from the field while adding 10 rebounds and two blocks. It was Patrick's third straight double-digit rebounding game and was her seventh double-double of the season as a freshman.

Copeland was next in scoring with 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, followed by Weller with 13 points on three 3-pointers with three assists as well.

After making their Webber debuts earlier this week, Franklin and Bolden both finished with 10 points and two steals while Franklin also added four assists.

One of the positive turnarounds for the Warriors in this game was also their shooting from the free throw line as Webber shot 76 percent as a team with Copeland going 6-for-6, Franklin going 5-for-6 and Patick finishing 3-for-5.

Other notable names in this one for Webber were Abby Unis with nine rebounds, Carmen with five points and seven boards, and Reed with four assists and three steals.

The win pulled Webber (7-10 overall, 2-7 The Sun Conference) into a tie with Johnson & Wales (5-12, 2-7), and it was the end of a five-game losing skid in the conference for the Warriors while the Wildcats' two-game winning streak in the league also came to an end.

Webber will return to the Sabbagh Athletic Center for its second meeting of the season with Ave Maria University as the Warriors will close out their regular-season series with a fellow TSC opponent for the first time this season. The Warriors and the Gyrenes will do battle at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 17.