Florida Memorial University Athletics

Charles Bethel Jr.

Women's Basketball 11/18/2020 8:00:00 PM J.T. Wilcox, Sports Information Director

Tolbert Has Big Night, Lady Lions Cruise Past Ave Maria

Box Score AVE MARIA, Fla. – Led by junior guard Keaynna Tolbert's season-high 35 points and 13 rebounds, Florida Memorial University women's basketball team cruised past host Ave Maria University 83-69 Wednesday night.

Tolbert, an Orlando, Florida native and transfer from Prairie View A&M University, relentlessly attacked the Gyrenes defense off the dribble – getting past defenders and finishing at the rim, as she shot an efficient 15-of-22 from the field. The 5-foot-7 guard also nabbed 6 steals, also the game-high.

Florida Memorial (2-2, 1-1 The Sun Conference) led by five at halftime (36-31) and pushed that lead to 10 by the end of the third thanks to a buzzer-beating shot by Tolbert.

The Lions opened the fourth quarter on a 11-2 run – with Tolbert scoring 7 of those points – taking complete control of the game and dealing the proverbial knockout blow to Ave Maria as FMU opened up as large as a 21-point lead midway through the fourth before coasting to the 83-69 final.

Aside from Tolbert's big night, FMU – which will travel to face off against Keiser University Saturday – also got a solid performance from guard Jamari Tillman, who finished with 18 points. Chantel Barnett was a basket away from notching a double-double with 8 points and 10 boards. Freshman Giselle Garcia also chipped in with 8 points off the bench.

Lions head coach Gregory Stanback put together a defensive game plan that did a good job of stymying what the Gyrenes and its offensive leader Taylor Allen like to do – shoot from long range. Allen, who was the No. 2 three-point shooter in The Sun Conference this past season, was just 2-for-5 from long range and Ave Maria as a whole shot just 5-of-21 from the three-point line.

Florida Memorial was plus-12 in the rebound margin (47-35) and committed just 12 turnovers against the Gyrenes (1-4, 0-2).

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