THOMASVILLE, Ga. – A tight finish for the Lady Night Hawks snapped their perfect record in Sun Conference play tonight as Thomas fell to Florida Memorial 63-62 in their first TSC contest of 2016.
 
While Thomas (6-6, 1-1 TSC) jumped out to a 19-16 lead after the first quarter of play, it was the Lady Lions (3-10, 1-2 TSC) who controlled the second frame outscoring TU 26-9 for the 42-28 lead at the intermission. 
 
Florida Memorial continued to exercise its will against Thomas in the third quarter going up on the Lady Night Hawks by 18 points, 57-39, at its height. 
 
Down but not out, head coach Coretta Brown regrouped her squad in between quarters and made one final push at a potential victory.  Known as second half team, Thomas did not disappoint their reputation's calling.  The Lady Night Hawks, who outscored FMU 19-4 in the final quarter of play, pulled within two possessions, 61-55, with just over six minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Senior Bria Joyner-Williams netted a three from the right side of the arch with 2:33 remaining in the contest to cut the Lady Lions' lead to 61-60.  Florida Memorial pushed the lead back to 63-60 with 34 seconds left on the clock giving Thomas one more opportunity to tie the game and send it to overtime.
 
The temporary hope was cut short in the final seconds of the game when the squad opted for a two instead of the game tying three.  Junior Rayven Thomas laid in the final basket with four ticks left on the clock as the Lady Night Hawks dropped their first Sun Conference game of the year 63-62.
 
TU narrowly missed having three players reach double-double figures as Bra'shey Ali (18 pts., 12 rebs.), Joyner-Williams (16 pts., 11 rebs.), and Rayven Thomas (12 pts., 9 rebs.) led the way for the Hunter Green and White.  FMU's Ashley Henry also recorded a double-double scoring 12 points while bringing down 15 boards.
 
The Lady Night Hawks return to action on Saturday, Jan. 9 when they host Keiser University (8-8, 1-2 TSC) in Sun Conference action.  Last time out, Keiser fell to Johnson & Wales 56-51.  Tipoff from the TU Gymnasium is slated for 1:00 p.m.
 
By the Numbers:
2 – Days until Thomas faces Keiser University
3 – Lady Night Hawks in double figures in scoring
9– Number of double-doubles record by Bra'shey Ali this season
12– Game high total of rebounds by Bra'shey Ali
18 – Points scored by TU's scoring leaderBra'shey Ali
32 – Total turnovers by Lady Night Hawks
55 – Total rebounds by the Lady Night Hawks
62 – Points scored by Thomas
 
For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU women's basketball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksWBKB.