GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 2022 FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII Women's Basketball Shootout came to a close on Saturday inside the Santa Fe College Gymnasium, with four more competitive games being played. The nightcap featured the Saints and Hillsborough, and it was the Hawks who came away with a 94-85 victory in overtime.

It was the third matchup this season with the two sides, and with the win, Hillsborough put an end to a three-game losing streak to the Saints dating back to the 2021-2022 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The opening quarter was played at an incredibly fast pace, with the defenses having trouble slowing the opponent down.

SF led 31-24 at the end of the first ten minutes, ending the frame on a 13-2 run. The Saints went 13-of-19 from the field and were led by 11 points from Malea Brown.

The run extended at the start of the second period, when SF established a 34-24 lead. That advantage would be the largest of the game for SF and they went into halftime with a 45-37 edge.

Jazmine Spencer and the Hawks came out firing in the second half, using a 13-0 run to seize a 55-48 lead.

The Saints were able to weather the storm to head into the fourth tied at 59-59, with much thanks to the offensive display from Khalea Douglas. Her eight points in the third quarter included two triples.

Hillsborough staked claim to a 75-69 lead with about 4:38 on the clock, then SF responded with seven unanswered to take a 76-75 lead.

SF led 78-76 as the clock went under a minute and Triniti Youngblood banked it in off the glass from inside the paint, but the Hawks quickly raced up the floor to tie the game for a seventh time at 78-78.

Brown had two three-point attempts miss the mark, and Hillsborough had one go astray as well, and the Shootout ended as it started with an overtime contest.

The Hawks set the tone in the extra period with the first six points, and although the Saints were able to trim their deficit down to two, SF never tied or regained the lead.

Joey Delancy's three-pointer with 34 seconds left brought the score to 88-85 HCC, but the game's final six points all came from Spencer as she iced the win from the free-throw line

UPDATED RECORDS

Santa Fe – 6-5

Hillsborough – 3-9

KEY STATISTICS

SF had no answer for Spencer, who finished the game with a game-high 42 points.

The Saints had their best shooting game of the season from the field (44.6 percent) and tied for their highest scoring output but were hurt by shooting just 9-of-21 from the free-throw line.

Hillsborough also held the edge in the turnover margin, forcing 25 Saints turnovers as compared to 13 of their own.

SF led on the glass, 55-45.

Selah Reddick and Douglas each had career-highs with 21 points to lead the way for SF. Reddick had a double-double with 12 rebounds, while Douglas added eight rebounds and canned five triples.

Brown finished with another 20-point scoring effort and swiped a career-high six steals. Delancy joined Reddick with a double-double, the first of her Saints career, contributing 15 points to go along with 11 rebounds.

Shootout Results – Saturday, Dec. 3

Game 1 – St. Petersburg 73, #3 Chipola 63

Game 2 - #RV Pensacola State 64, #23 Indian River 61

Game 3 – FSCJ 63, Tallahassee 62

Game 4 – Hillsborough 94, Santa Fe 85 (OT)

UP NEXT

The Saints (6-5) will have the opportunity to get back into the win column in the season series with the Hawks when they travel to Hillsborough on Tue., Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m. SF has won two of the season's three matchups with HCC so far…