Edwards Hits Game Winner to Lift Saints Over St. Pete, 66-64
December 4, 2010
December 4, 2010 Contact: Scott Jamison 352-395-5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu
SF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
EDWARDS HITS GAME WINNER TO LEAD SAINTS PAST ST. PETE, 66-64
Gainesville, FL – Stephanie Edwards nailed a three point shot from the corner with 5.2 seconds remaining and the Saints down by one to lift Santa Fe past St. Petersburg College 66-64 on Saturday night in the final game of the Women's Florida College Shootout. The win is the second this season over St. Pete.
“That was a huge shot by Stephanie,” said SF coach Chanda Stebbins. “We kept it together after losing the lead and most importantly executed to get her an open look that she knocked down.”
The Saints trailed for nearly the entire first half before closing with a 22-14 run over the last seven minutes to take a 38-37 lead into the break.
Stephenie Coney took over to start the second half, scoring nine points in the first ten minutes to help push the SF lead to a game high 56-45.
St. Pete slowly chipped away at the margin and tied the game at 61-61 with 1:20 to go. The Titans Kelsie Weynard made two free throws to give SPC the advantage, 62-61 with just over a minute remaining.
Leandra King answered for SF, taking an inbounds pass under the basket and converting the layup to put the Saints back on top 63-62.
With 18 seconds to go, Santa Fe missed the front end of a one and one, leaving the door open for St. Pete, who's Kamyia Smith drove the length of the floor for a layup and another lead change with 12 seconds left.
Down by one with seven seconds left and the ball underneath, Coney threw an inbounds pass to the corner for Edwards, who knocked down a three pointer with five seconds left on the clock to move SF back out in front. St. Pete was able to dribble the ball the length of the floor but the potential game tying layup was waived off after it was ruled to have been released after time had expired.
Coney led the Saints in scoring with 19, Leandra King had 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, extending her state lead in blocked shots, Edwards scored eight and Ashley Bacchus was a perfect 2-for-2 with four points and three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench. Every SF player on the roster scored at least two points.
“We have a lot of different threats on offense and any of our players can step up on any given night,” said Stebbins. “I was real impressed with Ashley off the bench, she did some really nice things in limited minutes. Leandra came in and gave us another solid game, especially on defense and Stephenie Coney continues to improve every time out on the floor.”
The Saints travel to Daytona for a two day tournament on December 10 and 11 at Daytona State College. On December 10, SF takes on Central Georgia Tech at 4:00pm and play Broward College on December 11 at 12:00pm.
For complete schedules and more information on Saints Basketball, please visit santafesaints.com. To see game photos and other updates, follow Santa Fe College Athletics on Facebook.
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