THOMASVILLE,GA. – The Thomas University Women's basketball team found themselves on the short end of the stick once again as the Night Hawks fell to the Lions of Florida Memorial 101-70.
The Lions (14-6, 10-2 SUN) controlled the game for most of the match as Florida Memorial shot 40% from the field in the 1st quarter. The Lions offense was too much for the Night Hawks to face as Florida Memorial boasted four players in double figures with Graduate Student Guard Monique Esbrand notching 21 points. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin Native Natalia Lequizamon followed behind Esbrand tallying the same amount. Both Lions were able to shoot above 40% percent from inside the arc. Overall,Florida Memorial capitalized on missed opportunities from the Night Hawks on the boards as the Lions tallied a total of 14 second chance points. Florida Memorial found their largest lead of the game in the 3rd quarter with 33 points. Defensively Florida Memorial limited Thomas to 47% percent from the field.
Thomas (1-18, 1-12 SUN) found themselves trying to close a very large gap throughout the entire game. The Green and White were once again led by Graduate Student Forward Destiny Reed, tallying 15 points. Freshman Jaleigh Miller made her first appearance after a few games off, tallying 14 points on the night. Throughout the game, the Green and White weren't able to find their rhythm, allowing Florida Memorial to score off TU's 22 turnovers of the match. Thomas found themselves finding a surge in the second half of the contest with the bench scoring a total of 18 points. As the game progressed Thomas continued to find a small surge notching 8 second chance points. The Green and White became aggressive in the paint to create opportunities at the line with Junior Guard Amayla Sharif leading the way at the charity stripe with 10 attempts The Night Hawks were able to out rebound the Lions by just two boards, tallying a total of 40 rebounds on the night. Senior forward Dyani Sheppard led the way on the boards for the Night Hawks, notching a total of 10 on the night.
The Night Hawks will be back on the hardwood floor next Thursday in another SUN Conference match against the Royals of Warner University. Tip off is slated for 5:30pm in the Rose City.
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 men's and women's cross country teams by following them via Twitter at @TUXCTF1.
