BABSON PARK, Fla. (February 9, 2019) – On Saturday afternoon inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center, the Webber International University women's basketball team earned a well-deserved 88-69 win over the second-place team in The Sun Conference, St. Thomas University.

It was arguably one of the best second halves of the season so far for a Warriors' team that has been playing better and better as the season has gone on, and it was nice to see that effort finally pay off with a big win over one of the top teams in the conference. In addition to receiving votes in the NAIA Division-II Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, St. Thomas is also on track to earn the No. 2 seed in The Sun Conference Tournament and put itself into position to earn a bid into the NAIA Division-II National Tournament.

Head Coach Grady Morrell said, "This was the best we have played as a team all year, hands down. I have been saying for a while now that this team is really close, and it is great to see all of our hard work finally come to fruition."

Webber (9-15 overall, 4-12 The Sun Conference) was led by a 24-point outing by sophomore Paris Copeland, who did her work on 9-of-13 shooting overall while also adding three steals. It was Copeland's third game scoring 21 or more points in 12 outings since re-joining the Warriors' roster back on December 17.

The two other Warriors in double figures in scoring were Taniya Patrick with 12 points and three blocks and Dariah Bolden with 10 points.

Breyonna Reed also added eight points while LeAndra Franklin had seven points and four steals, Montrese Weller had seven points and Emmarrie Carmen had six points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Webber was doubled up 24-12 late in the first quarter before coming all the way back to tie it and take the lead on back-to-back layups by Patrick less than a minute and a half before the intermission.

Coming out of the locker room on a mission, the third quarter is where the Warriors took control, shooting 60 percent (9-15) from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from three to win the quarter 25-19.

Webber then cranked up the defense in the final quarter, holding St. Thomas (21-6, 13-3) to only 29.4 percent (5-17) shooting in the period while outscoring the Bobcats 28-15. The Warriors' defense kept St. Thomas to only three points throughout the first six minutes and 45 seconds of the fourth quarter.

In the end, the Warriors also outscored St. Thomas 52-38 on points in the paint and 26-17 on fast break points. Additionally, Webber's overall field goal percentage of 49.3 percent was its second best shooting percentage of the season while its 40 percent 3-point percentage was its third highest.

Next up is Webber's Senior Night at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 14 (Valentine's Day), against Johnson & Wales University. The Warriors were an 80-75 winner over the Wildcats back on January 12 as Webber will have a good chance of sending its seniors out on a high note.