LAKELAND, Fla. (February 26, 2021) – The strong 2020-21 season for the Webber International University women's basketball team came to an end on Friday evening in The Sun Conference Tournament semifinals. In the end, the third-seeded Warriors overcame multiple 21-point deficits before leading by seven in the fourth quarter, but ultimately, Webber fell by a final score of 72-66 against second-seeded St. Thomas University on Friday night inside the Furnace on the campus of Southeastern University.

The story of the first half was 3-point shooting for St. Thomas, which shot 63.6 percent (14-22) from the field and 75 percent (9-12) from three in the opening 20 minutes. Webber meanwhile, shot only 25.7 percent (9-35) from the field and made only one of its 11 3-point attempts in the first half.

Webber trailed 8-0 to start the game and then trailed 11-4 after the third 3-pointer of the opening three minutes for St. Thomas before battling back to within two at 12-10 with 3:15 left in the period. However, the Bobcats closed the quarter strong, sinking three more 3-pointers in the final minute and a half of the frame to go up by double digits at 23-12.

The Warriors shot only 27.8 percent (5-18) from the field and were 0-for-5 from three in the first quarter, making one less field goal than St. Thomas had 3-pointers (6-9; 66.7 percent).

Less than a minute and a half into the second quarter, St. Thomas sank two more 3-pointers to go ahead 30-12, and then the Bobcats led by 21 at 36-15 with 6:38 left before halftime.

After trailing by 21 points two more times in the quarter, Webber trailed by 20 at halftime at 44-24 after St. Thomas shot 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from long range in the second quarter.

A 10th 3-pointer for St. Thomas made it a 21-point game again at 49-28 with 6:31 left in the third quarter, but from there, Webber started an epic comeback.

A 6-0 Warrior run ending with back-to-back layups by Paris Copeland made it a 15-point game at 49-34 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

Then down 50-34, the Warriors scored 16 straight points to tie the game at 50-50 with 5.5 seconds left in the third quarter. Half of those 16 points for Webber came from LeAndra Franklin while Copeland scored four on the run and Kayla Burrows finished it off with a steal and two free throws.

In addition to the solid play of Burrows, most significantly on the defensive end, the comeback for Webber was keyed by better defense as a team, and better rebounding. During the third quarter alone, the Warriors outrebounded the Bobcats 16-5 overall, including a 9-3 advantage on the offensive glass, and had eight steals on nine Bobcat turnovers. Webber outscored St. Thomas 18-1 on points off turnovers and 15-5 on second chance points in all for the quarter.

Then after starting the fourth quarter down 51-50, Webber scored eight straight points to open up the period and take a seven-point lead at 58-51 on another offensive rebound and put back by Amaya Small with 7:21 left to play.

It was a 30-2 run for Webber dating back to the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter, but from there, St. Thomas righted the ship and scored nine straight to retake the lead at 60-58 with four a half minutes remaining.

Dasia Wandick answered with a 3-pointer to put the Warriors back up at 61-60 with four minutes left, and then a midrange jumper by Copeland to just beat the shot clock kept it at a one-point deficit for Webber at 64-63 with two and a half minutes to go.

Webber then trailed by five at 68-63 before a layup by Copeland got it back to a one-possession game at 68-65 with a minute and a half left, and then a free throw by Franklin made it 68-66 with only 46.4 seconds on the clock.

Unfortunately, a floater in the paint by St. Thomas with only 24 seconds left made it a two-possession game again and helped push the Bobcats over the top.

The leader scorer for Webber in this one, in what also likely her final game as a Warrior, was Copeland, who scored 16 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field while also adding six rebounds.

Next was Wandick with 13 points, Small with 11 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh and final double-double of the season, and Franklin with 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

With its fourth loss this season against St. Thomas, Webber finished its season at 17-10 overall while the Bobcats improved to 19-4 and will head to the TSC Tournament championship game.