Gainesville, FL- On Wednesday the Saints faced the Miami Dade Sharks at home in Gainesville.  This was the second time they faced off this season.  In the first matchup, the final score 77-66 in favor of the Saints.  The Sharks were set to even the series 1-1.  

How It Happended:

The Saints got off to a slow start in this one. They found themselves behind early when they went down 18-8 in the first quarter. The Saints began to better execute their offense and with a big three-pointer by Camryn Robinson, the Saints cut Miami Dade's lead to 1 point making it 27-26. The two teams were scoring back and forth making it a neck-a-neck game with the Saints down by just 1 point going into the half. 

Miami Dade came out in the second half going on an early run, 7-2, until a timely three-pointer was put in by Khaleah Douglas (finished with 4 three's). Despite Douglas' sharp shooting from behind the arc, the Saints still found themselves trailing by 9 at the end of the third quarter.

To open up the fourth quarter the sharks went on a 6-0 run increasing their lead to 15 points causing the Saints to call an urgent timeout. Even with Santa Fe's 5 triples in the 4th quarter, they struggled to get consecutive stops on the defensive end allowing the Sharks to pull away with this one and win by a comfortable margin (87-71).

Quote from Coach Jackson:

" As a team, the only thing that is holding us back is consistency. We need to become that on the defensive end of the floor. We need to learn to control the controlables, and I believe defense is what we can control."

Up Next: 

The Saints will face Indian River State College (Away) this Saturday at 2 pm.