Charles Bethel Jr.

Women's Basketball 11/13/2020 5:59:00 PM J.T. Wilcox, Sports Information Director

Lady Lions To Host St. Thomas In Home Opener Saturday

AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (1-1, 1-0) vs. St. Thomas University (2-0, 0-0)
When: Saturday, November 14, 2020
Where: Florida Memorial, Miami Gardens, Fla. | FMU Wellness Center
Tipoff: 5 p.m.
Last Meeting: Feb. 8, 2020, Win 70-60
Live Video: Link
Live Stats: Link

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Florida Memorial University's women's basketball team will be looking to gain some early momentum in the conference race and capture its first home victory of the season when it welcomes rival St. Thomas University to the FMU Wellness Center for a 5 p.m. showdown Saturday.

It'll be a women-men doubleheader, with the Lady Lions taking the floor first, followed by the men's teams tipping off 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game.

Florida Memorial will not be permitting fans to attend either game. The game will, however, be streamed live online by the Black College Sports Network and will be able to be viewed by fans free of charge.

The Lady Lions (1-1, 1-0 The Sun Conference) enter Saturday's meeting riding the high of its road win over Warner University. FMU jumped out to a big lead early and was able to hold off a late rally before coming away with its first conference – and road – win of the season.

Junior guard Keaynna Tolbert further solidified her role as the team's offensive stalwart, recording a game-high 19 points while also totaling 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. She was just one of four FMU players to score in double figures against the Royals on a night that also saw all 10 Lions players that played record points.

Saturday, Florida Memorial will be looking to take down a St. Thomas University (2-0, 0-0) team that has picked up a pair of non-conference wins against two middling teams and will be looking to capture its first Sun Conference win this season.

Up to this point, the Bobcats' train has been driven by junior guard Samaria August. The 5-foot-5 August is averaging 14 points per game, but she has been a bit of a volume scorer (shooting just 36 percent from the field and 28 percent from three-point range). She has, however, been solid with the ball – just 2 turnovers through the two games – and has nabbed 9 steals.

FMU, which has won just one of the past three meetings with the Bobcats, will need to play to its strength – which, up to this point, has been its ability to speed up the pace of the game, or as head coach Gregory Stanback calls it, create "controlled chaos".

Speeding up the pace of the game could help combat St. Thomas' physical frontcourt duo of Gianni Domond and Chrystal Pressley. Domond has nearly averaged a double-double through the first two games – 11 points and 9.5 rebounds – while Pressley (a transfer from the now-defunct Johnson and Wales University) has pulled down 10 boards per game so far this season.

This could be a matchup that calls for a big performance from FMU's lone senior Anjelie Tirone, who pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds in the team's season-opener, along with help on boards from either or both of Heather Durand and Giselle Garcia.

Follow Florida Memorial University Athletics on social media
Instagram: @GoFMULions/@FMUWBB | Twitter: @GoFMULions | YouTube: Official FMU Lions

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