WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (January 30, 2020) – For the second time in the month of January, the Webber International University women's basketball team is on a three-game Sun Conference winning streak as the Warriors earned the season sweep over the Seahawks of Keiser University with a 62-57 win on Thursday evening in West Palm Beach, Florida.

It was the sixth Sun Conference victory in seven games for Webber (13-9 overall, 7-5 TSC) and was the first season sweep for the Warriors over Keiser (9-12, 3-8) since the 2014-15 season. In all, the Warriors are now 6-1 in Sun Conference games during the month of January.

The game was very similar to the first meeting this season between Webber and Keiser when the Warriors trailed by double digits at halftime before outscoring the Seahawks 49-28 in the second half and shot over 52 percent from the field in the third quarter.

This time around, Webber outscored Keiser 39-23 over the final 20 minutes while shooting 53.3 percent (8-15) from the field in the third quarter and exactly 50 percent (5-10) in the fourth. Additionally, the Warriors ramped up the pressure defensively in the second half by holding the Seahawks to exactly 25 percent shooting from the field in both the third and fourth quarters.

Head Coach Grady Morrell said, "We started slow and had too many turnovers, but our defense saved us in the second half."

Helping lead the Warriors to victory this time by spearheading the strong defensive effort in the second half for Webber were junior LeAndra Franklin and sophomore Taniya Patrick.

Franklin finished with five steals and had a tremendous all-around stat line with 16 points, mostly on 7-for-11 shooting from the free throw line, six rebounds and five assists.

Patrick finished with six blocks and also had 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. She was only one rebound shy of another double-double with nine boards.

At halftime, Webber trailed by 11 points at 34-23 after already committing 18 turnovers as a team and being outscored 17-9 in points off turnovers, 12-4 in second chance points and 16-10 on points in the paint.

From there, the Warriors mounted their comeback effort over the final four minutes of the third quarter, getting to within seven at 42-35 following a layup by Patrick and then to within five at 43-38 on a 3-pointer by Franklin.

With three minutes left in the third quarter, a layup by Thalia Jackson got Webber to within three at 43-40 before an and-one by Emmarrie Carmen tied it up at 45-45 with a minute and half left on the clock.

Franklin then put the Warriors ahead for the first time since leading 14-13 in the first quarter as she came up with a steal and a free throw with 1:24 left in the third quarter.

Franklin added one more free throw with 2.1 seconds left in the quarter to make it a 47-45 Webber lead heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.

The Warriors proceeded to open up the final quarter by jumping to a six-point lead at 51-45 on layups by Carmen and Patrick, but the Seahawks kept it to within two possessions until the sixth block of the game by Patrick led to a layup by Franklin to make it an eight-point game at 60-52 with just under three and a half minutes left to play.

Keiser had a chance down three at 60-57 with under 30 seconds left, but air-balled the go-ahead 3-pointer from the corner before Franklin sealed the win for the Warriors with two more free throws with 8.1 seconds on the clock.

Other key performances for the Warriors on Thursday included Paris Copeland with 10 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, Carmen with five points and four boards, and RayGene Garner with eight rebounds.

To kick off the final month of the regular season, Webber will return home to the Sabbagh Athletic Center to host Johnson & Wales University at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, in more Sun Conference action. It was the first meeting between Webber and JWU back on January 4 in North Miami, Florida, that jumpstarted the Warriors' rise up The Sun Conference standings as Webber won 70-53 and handed the Wildcats their first conference loss of the season to that point.