St. Augustine, FL – Southern Wesleyan fell to the Flagler College Saints on Tuesday evening in an 88-56 final score.
The Warriors shot 29.4% from the field against the Saints and went 72.2% from the free throw line. Asia Pearly led the team with 14 points with Taylin Smith following with 10 points after going 7-8 at the free throw line. Shelby Glance picked up three of the 10 assists.
Southern Wesleyan totaled 32 rebounds with junior Tristen Berry leading the team with seven. Behind Berry, both Lexi Greffen and Dynasty Shegog had five boards apiece. Shelby Glance and Greffen each picked up blocks. The Warriors had seven steals with Greffen recording three.
Game Vitals
Final: Flagler 88, Southern Wesleyan 56
Records: Southern Wesleyan (3-7) Flagler (4-3)
How It Happened
Flagler charged out of the gate off a three pointer by Dane Bertolina. Southern Wesleyan challenged right back off back-to-back layups by Tristen Berry and Lexi Greffen. Destiny McClendon stepped beyond the arc and collected a pass from Bertolina to extend the Saints lead to four. Greffen took a pass from Shelby Glance under the basket for a layup. A jump shot by Glance put the Warriors within two points of the Saints with just under seven minutes left in the quarter. Flagler would not back down as Sharale McCormick hit her first three pointer of the evening. The Warriors would not back down as Jordan Race sunk a ball from beyond the arc and Shelby Glance put up a jump shot. Southern Wesleyan continued to chip away at the Saints lead with baskets by Tristen Berry and Dynasty Shegog.
A foul to kick off the second quarter allowed Maddie Erickson to make a free throw to kick off the scoring for the Saints. Asia Pearly put up a jump shot to keep the Warriors within four. Pearly sent the ball to Jordan Race for a jump shot to cut the Saints lead to 27-25. Flagler would not back down as Destiny McClendon and Jessica Dowdy hit back-to-back three pointers for the Saints to give them a nine point lead. Shelby Glance sent the ball beyond the arc to Taylin Smith who fired off her lone three point basket of the night. The Saints distanced themselves further on another three pointer by Dowdy. Asia Pearly laid the ball up to keep the Warriors within ten points, however a layup by Dowdy pushed the Saints to a twelve point lead with just under two minutes left in the half. Flagler led 51-35 going into the locker room.
Southern Wesleyan struck quickly in the third quarter as Shelby Glance put up a jump shot. The Saints marched on as baskets by Destiny McClendon and Jessica Dowdy extended their lead to twenty points. Dynasty Shegog went under the basket and laid the ball up to put the Warriors back within 19-points. Dowdy continued her hot streak from beyond the arc as she collected a pass from Se'Lah Reddick and put the ball into the hoop to extend Flager's lead to 66-43.
An early foul by Taylin Smith in the final quarter sent Destiny McClendon to the free throw line to kick off the fourth quarter. McClendon hit both her baskets to give the Saints a twenty-three point advantage. Shelby Glance fired off a jump shot and Asia Pearly laid the ball up into the basket. However, the Warriors could not stop Destiny McClendon from hitting yet another three point basket. Despite a last second three pointer by Jordan Race, the Warriors dropped the game to the Flager Saints in a 88-56 final score.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will return home on December 16 as they host the Chowan Hawks in Conference Carolinas action at 2 pm. They will then enter the Holiday break before traveling to Cullowhee, NC on December 30 to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts in exhibition play. The Warriors will open up the 2024 year on the road to Harrogate, TN where they will battle the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters.
