LAKELAND, Fla. (February 29, 2020) – Only one day after defeating the No. 1-ranked team in NAIA Division-II Women's Basketball, Southeastern University, the No. 4-seeded Webber International University women's basketball team ran out of gas in The Sun Conference Tournament Championship game against No. 3-seeded Johnson & Wales University. After Webber previously defeated JWU by at least 18 points in both of their first two meetings this season, the third time was the charm for the Wildcats in a 71-63 victory over the Warriors.

Following the contest, juniors Paris Copeland and LeAndra Franklin were both named to the all-tournament team.

Copeland led the Warriors with 16 points on Saturday on 50 percent (7-14) shooting from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 mark from 3-point range. She also added five rebounds and three assists.



Frankin scored nine points and added six rebounds and five steals, and senior Breyonna Reed was the Warriors' only other player in addition to Copeland to reach double digits in scoring as she finished with 13 points and was 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

Senior Emmarrie Carmen and sophomore Taniya Patrick both scored six points while the final two seniors, RayGene Garner and Dysheka Price, scored three points and two points, respectively.

Like it was the night before, Webber was strong from the free throw line at 78.9 percent (15-19) for the game, but it was a field goal percentage of below 35 percent and a 3-point field goal percentage of under 22 percent that never really put the Warriors into position to make a run.

Webber trailed 7-0 in the first quarter before coming back to tie it at 12-12 on a layup by Franklin with 3:33 left in the period before taking its only lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Reed with 47 second left in the quarter.

Four and half minutes into the second quarter, the Warriors fell behind by 10 for the first time in the game before going into the locker room down seven at 41-34 at the break.



After the Wildcats then opened up the third quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 14-point lead at 50-36, Webber answered with seven straight points on a 3-pointer by Eletra Graham followed by a layup by Garner and a jumper by Patrick to make the score 50-43 just over halfway through the third quarter.

However, the Warriors would not get any closer for the rest of the period as a 5-0 Webber run featuring two free throws by Reed, a layup by Carmen and a free throw by Samantha Pacheco all over the final 30 seconds of the quarter made it a seven-point game again at 59-52 with only 10 minutes left to play.

Just over a minute into the final quarter, two more free throws by Reed made it a two-possession game at 59-54, but Webber would get no closer as the Warriors missed each of their next nine shots, allowing JWU to go on a 10-2 run over a five-minute span to go ahead by 13 at 69-56 with 3:45 to go.

Back-to-back baskets by Reed and Copeland made it 69-60 with two minutes remaining, but the Warriors just did not have enough offensive firepower to get back into it as two more misses from three followed by a missed layup and then a turnover with 41 seconds left was all she wrote.

After allowing JWU to shoot 63.64 (7-11) from the field in the third quarter, the Warriors shot only 18.75 percent (3-16) themselves in the fourth quarter while going a combined 2-for-9 from three in the second half.



It was Webber's fifth trip to The Sun Conference Tournament Championship game during nine seasons under Head Coach Grady Morrell and was the Warriors' first such appearance since 2015-16 when Webber advanced to the championship for the fourth season in a row. Webber's lone TSC Tournament Championship came during the 2012-13 season, Morrell's second season with the team, resulting in the Warriors' fourth ever trip to the NAIA Division-II Women's Basketball Championship.

Webber fell to 19-12 overall on the season while Johnson & Wales (22-7) will receive an automatic bid to the 29th Annual NAIA Division-II Women's Basketball National Championship, which is set for March 11-17 in Sioux City, Iowa.

The bracket for the national tournament will be released on Wednesday, March 4, at 7 pm. Eastern Standard Time / 6 p.m. Central Standard Time on the @PlayNAIA Facebook Page HERE.