St. Leo, FL – Southern Wesleyan dropped their final game at the St. Leo Classic on Saturday to West Florida in a 59-45 final score.

The Warriors shot 26.9% from the field in the loss to the Argonauts on Saturday.  Brooke Henricks led the team with 15 points, with Lisana Burnett closely following her with 14.  Denisha Hall recorded three of the seven assists of the game.

The Warriors collected 30 rebounds in the loss.  Lisana Burnett led the team with seven.  She was followed by Emily Waters and Denisha Hall with five each.  Waters went on to record five of the 10 steals during the game.  Both Waters and Aneysa Williams had blocks.

Game Vitals

Final: West Florida 59, Southern Wesleyan 45

Records: Southern Wesleyan (1-10) West Florida (4-8)

How It Happened

West Florida attacked first in the game as Fanny Hulml made a jump shot to put them on top 2-0.  The Argonauts kept the Warriors off the board for the first eight minutes of play until a 3-pointer by Brooke Henricks put the Warriors down 3-11 to West Florida.  The Argonauts continued to push ahead, but free throws by Santavia Macomson and Lisana Burnett kept the Warriors within striking distance.  Southern Wesleyan continued to challenge as Denisha Hall got the ball away and took it down the court on a fast break to put the Warriors within six, and then a layup by Henricks at the end of the first quarter put the score at 11-14.

The Argonauts took the first points of the second quarter, but the Warriors quickly countered as Denisha Hall made a layup to make the score 13-16.  Southern Wesleyan continued to slowly chip away at West Florida's lead as Brooke Henricks sunk a 3-point shot on the left side to make the score 16-18.  Free throws by Emily Waters and Denisha Hall allowed the Warriors to tie the game, and then a 3-pointer by Lisana Burnett put Southern Wesleyan on top 26-25 at the half.

Southern Wesleyan continued to attack the net in the third quarter as Lisana Burnett led off with a 3-point jump shot to give Southern Wesleyan a 29-25 point advantage.  West Florida countered with a jump shot by Faithe Franklin to put the Argonauts within two of the Warriors.  The Argonauts continued to challenge the Warriors defense, regaining the lead on a layup by Franklin.  West Florida continued to push ahead, taking a 10-point lead on a jump shot by Ashaunti Brown, but a driving layup by Burnett allowed Southern Wesleyan to cut the lead to 32-40.

The Warriors would not be thwarted as Brooke Henricks stole the ball away and sunk a 3-pointer to put Southern Wesleyan within six points.  They continued to chip away with a free throw and second-chance layup by Halee Morrison to make the score 40-43.  West Florida would not let the Warriors take the game easily, as they went on a seven point run to take a 50-40 point lead, but a layup by Lisana Burnett kept Southern Wesleyan within eight points.  Despite a last second 3-point shot by Henricks, West Florida went on to win the game in a 59-45 final.

What's Next

The Warriors will take a short Christmas season break before returning to the court in 2020.  They will then return to Historic Tysinger Gymnasium on January 2 and 4.  They will kick off 2020 against the King Tornado on January 2 at 5:30, and then will host the Converse Valkyries on January 4 at 2 p.m.