Gainesville, FL- The Saints return from their holiday break to face their toughest test of the season against Chipola College.  Though the Saints were down a few key players, they still were poised to upset their #19 nationally ranked opponent.  The Saints fought hard, but fell short of an upset.  Key contributions from top to bottom of their roster helped the Saints to compete at their highest level so far this season.

Aissatou Diallo scored a team high of 19 points in the lost to Chipola.  Shakiria Chaney added 18 points. Chipola's Victoria Morales led all scorers with 35 points.

How It Happened:

Both teams came out cold missing their first few attempts.  Chiploa's tough defense helped to get them rolling by forcing two early shot clock violation turnovers on the Saints.  Chipola follwed up each of their defensive stands by hitting two triples which helped them jump out to an early lead in the openig quarter.  Chipola hit a total of 5 triples in the first quarter. The Saints answered back by stepping up their defense and firing back on offense with a couple of triples of their own from guards Aissatou Diallo and Camryn Robinson.  The score by the end of the quarter was 11-19 (Chipola).    

The Saints opened the first quarter with a 12-3 run and finally took the lead with 4:12 left in the half after Leyah Houston made 1-2 free throws.  Chipola answered with a made basket by Kyrstin Green, also putting her at the line.  The Saints continued their rally in the second period going up by as much as 4 points (28-24) after a triple from Shakira Cheney.  With less than two minutes remaining in the half, Chiploa stunned the Saints as they went on a 14-0 run after a series of triples and tough finishes at the basket.  They would go into the half leading 28-38.

Victoria Morales was a key reason to help keep the Saints at bay by hitting an outstanding 3 triples in the third quarter.  In spite of a 14 point quarter by Aissatou Diallo, the Saints were hardly able to cut into the double digit lead established by Chipola.

A key rebound by Leyah Houston and two triples by Shakiria Chaney helped to cut into the lead (62-67) in the fourth quarter.  However, in every instance Chipola seemed to have an answer for the Saints.  Victoria Morales made two more triples putting her at 9 triples on the night to help Chipola hold on to another road win.   

Comments From Coach Jackson:

"I appreciate how hard our young ladies competed today against a top 20 nationally ranked team.  We can learn a lot from tonight's game and it's my hope that we will build off of it."

Up Next: The Saints will face #1 Northwest Florida State College tomorrow at 3pm at home.  Tipoff is set for 3pm.