LAKELAND, Fla. (February 21, 2023) - In the quarterfinal round of The Sun Conference Tournament, the Webber International University women's basketball team traveled to match up against Southeastern University on Tuesday night. The Warriors suffered a slow start and despite a much improved second half, they were unable to overcome the deficit in a 89-76 defeat.

The loss for the Warriors (11-16 overall, 8-8 SUN) puts an end to their 2022-2023 season, while the Fire (13-14, 9-7) will advance to the semifinal of the conference tournament. After a rough start to the season, Webber won six of its final eight conference games to seal a spot in the tournament. Head Coach Grady Morrell has now led the Warriors to four-straight Sun Conference Tournaments (2020-2023).

The Fire got off to a red-hot start in the first quarter as they jumped out to an early lead and recorded 31 points on 62.3 percent shooting in just the opening quarter. However, the Warriors were not quite so fortunate as they were held to just 29.4 percent shooting. Webber trailed by 17 at 31-14 heading into quarter number two.

The Warriors were able to slow down Southeastern's torrid scoring pace, but only slightly as Webber was still outscored 21-13 for the quarter. The Fire steadily increased their lead to as many as 25 points which they held at the halftime break at 52-27.

Webber came out of the half with much higher energy as it forced Southeastern into eight turnovers in total for the quarter. Jaida Burgess, Samantha Pacheco, and Alexandria Lemmon led the way as the Warriors outscored the Fire 26-20, making a small dent in a seemingly insurmountable deficit. Webber still trailed by 19 heading into the final quarter of action.

Once again, the Warriors would outscore Southeastern in the quarter but it would not be enough as the Fire hung on for the victory to confirm their advancement to the semifinal game.

Burgess led the team in scoring with 16 points and added seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal. She was followed by Pacheco, Lemmon, and Dasia Wandick who all scored 15 points each. Pacheco finished the game with team-highs in rebounds (8), assists (7), and steals (4) as well. Lemmon recorded three assists and a steal to her credit while Wandick was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field including 3-of-3 from deep. Alisha Walker contributed with eight points and three rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.