Box Score The Sun Conference Women's Basketball Game of the Week
St. Thomas (12-7, 8-1 TSC) at Florida Memorial (11-6, 6-3 TSC)
Saturday, January 20
2 p.m.
Miami Gardens, Fla.

Live Video: portal.stretchinternet.com/thesun
Live Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/thesun


Headlines:
- Neighboring rivals St. Thomas and Florida Memorial and face off in the annual "Battle of Miami Gardens".  The two schools are located 1.2 miles apart.  Saturday's affair will be hosted by Florida Memorial at the FMU Wellness Center.

- Both teams have impressive winning records thus far both overall and in Sun Conference play.  Florida Memorial is 11-6 overall with a 6-3 conference record.  STU is 12-7 and sits in sole possession of second place in the Sun Conference standings with a 8-1 mark in league play.

- St. Thomas has won 11 of its last 13 overall games dating back to Nov. 30.  The Bobcats' only losses during that stretch came to NCAA DII Barry and Sun Conference rival Southeastern (ranked no. 2 in NAIA DII).  Florida Memorial has won five of its last six games with the only loss over that stretch also coming to Southeastern.
 

Inside the Numbers:
- The two teams met earlier this season in the Sun Conference opener for both teams held on Nov. 18 at STU's Fernandez Family Center.  The Bobcats defeated the Lions 61-50 in that meeting.

- Much of each teams' success this season has come on the defensive end.  FMU ranks third in the nation in blocks-per-game (5.8) and sixth in the nation in field goal pct. defense (.347).  St. Thomas ranks 9th in the nation in turnover margin (6.7) and 10^th in the nation in steals per game (13.5).



Who to Watch:
-FMU's Abreona Cabell ranks third in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (8.5) while her teammate Ashley Henry ranks fifth nationally in offensive rebounds per game (4.2).  Cabell (17.6 ppg) leads the Lions in scoring and blocked shots (31) as well.

- Samara Auguste of St. Thomas ranks no. 1 in the nation in total steals (84) and no. 2 in the nation in steals-per-game (4.4).  She also ranks 20th in the nation in scoring (18.2 ppg).  Auguste and her backcourt mate Katie Rienas (16.2 ppg) have led the Bobcats all season in scoring.  Most recently, Auguste scored a career-high 30 points in Thursday's win over the University of Virgin Islands.  Rienas meanwhile matched her career-high with 26 points vs. UVI on Wednesday.


Quotables:
"This is always an exciting matchup when you play your crosstown rival. We know them and they know us. We both play pressure defense and an up-tempo pace so, whoever can take care of the ball will have a chance to get the win."
- Gregory Stanback, Head Coach, Florida Memorial

"We are very excited to be a part of the Conference Game of the Week. We know that going up against a tough opponent and rival in Florida Memorial on their home floor will be a challenge. They have a talented and athletic group that can get up and down the floor and defend at a high level. As we head into the final stretch of the season, we both understand the importance of every single game, so this should be an exciting matchup. "
–Candace Walker, Head Coach, St. Thomas