January 27, 2016

Gainesville, FL – Despite an off night offensively from Santa Fe, the Saints turned up their defensive pressure and held on down the stretch to defeat Florida State College-Jacksonville in a low scoring affair in Gainesville.  The win improves SF to 12-10 overall and 4-2 in the Mid-Florida Conference.

Santa Fe clamped down from the outset and held the Blue Wave to just 12 points in the first quarter and 10 in the second quarter to lead at the half 34-22.

In the second half, it was all Saints from the get go as they built their lead to as many as 18 five minutes in.  The Blue Wave never gave in and cut the lead all the way down to 50-49, but never completely closed the gap.  Ari Emanuel-Wright, Rayven Wade, and Sonya Franklin all scored in the final minutes to keep the SF lead at five, and Evelina Avleeva nailed a free throw in the closing seconds to put it out of reach.

Emanuel-Wright and Franklin each had 14 points to lead the way for Santa Fe.  Emanuel-Wright also added nine rebounds, and Wade had 10 rebounds.

The Saints will hit the road on Saturday, January 30 for a MFC showdown with first place Daytona State College at 2:00 PM.

For complete schedules, stats, and more information please visit www.santafesaints.com. 

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