Lake Wales, Fla. – Heading into the second half of Saturday's Sun Conference contest at Warner University trailing by one point, the St. Thomas University Women's Basketball Team used a .571 field goal percentage over the final 20 minutes to outlast the host Royals in a 65-59 victory.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: St. Thomas 65, Warner 59
Records: St. Thomas (11-5, 4-1 Sun Conference), Warner (5-11, 0-5 Sun Conference)
Records: STU leads 39-1

HOW IT HAPPENED:
·         After trading the opening eight points of the contest, Warner scored four-straight to pull ahead 8-4 with 3:01 remaining in the first quarter. The Royals held STU without a run of consecutive baskets for the entire opening frame, heading into the second with a 13-8 advantage.
·         Maintaining the five-point gap at 22-17 with 3:54 left in the half, the Bobcats made it a one-possession game at 22-21 before baskets from each side created a 24-23 halftime score.
·         STU used a 5-0 start to the third quarter to take a 28-24 lead, countering a 7-0 Warner run with a triple to knot the score at 31-all with 6:39 remaining in the frame. Warner recreated their five-point cushion at 40-35 before a 10-2 Bobcats' run to end the frame propelled them to a 45-42 lead.
·         St. Thomas added to their lead with the initial five points of the fourth quarter, thwarting Warner's comeback attempt that made it a one-possession game at 50-47 with another 5-0 run. The host got within at four at 58-54, countered by back-to-back STU baskets with the host keeping the lead above six for the rest of the afternoon.

NOTEWORTHY:
·         Samantha Vales scored a team-best 14 points, adding three steals on the defensive end.
·         Isabella Rivera added 13 points on 4-6 shooting alongside 10 rebounds for a double-double.
·         Madison Lippy dished out four assists.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
·         STU went 22-62 from the field, 6-22 from beyond the arc and 15-26 from the free throw line. Warner went 17-54, 5-12 from three and 20-27 from the free throw line.
·         STUheld a 41-39 advantage in rebounds.
·         The Bobcats forced 19 turnovers, resulting in 18 points. The host scored 13 points off 12 turnovers.
·         STU recorded nine steals and four blocks versus six steals and two blocks for the Royals.
 
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats return to the Fernandez Family Center to welcome Florida Memorial University for the "Battle of Miami Gardens" on Wednesday, Jan. 14 with tip-off set for 5:30 pm.