Lady Lions In Must-Win Situation Saturday, Host Johnson & Wales

AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (13-14, 8-9) vs. Johnson & Wales Wildcats (18-7, 12-5)
When: Saturday, February 22, 2020
Where: Florida Memorial, Miami Gardens, Fla. | FMU Wellness Center
Tip-off: 2 p.m.
Last Meeting: Jan. 16, 2020, Loss 66-76
Live Stream Video & Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/fmulions/index.htm

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – There's an old adage that says pressure either bursts pipes or makes diamonds.

Florida Memorial University's women's basketball team will be facing the pressure that comes along with playing what will essentially be a play-in game Saturday afternoon when it hosts local and conference rival Johnson and Wales University at 2 p.m. in the FMU Wellness Center.

The Lady Lions will be in a must-win situation Saturday if they are to put themselves in position to clinch a spot in the Sun Conference postseason tournament. Florida Memorial (13-14, 8-9 Sun Conference) currently sits in the sixth – and final qualifying – spot. The Lions are tied with five-seed Ave Maria University with the same conference record, but they also sit just one game ahead of Keiser University – which defeated FMU this past Thursday in a dramatic 67-66 slugfest.

That loss to Keiser, which the Seahawks stole on a buzzer-beating, bank-shot three-pointer, kept Florida Memorial from clinching a playoff berth and kept Keiser in the hunt. Now, the Lions need to win in order to guarantee a spot in the Sun Conference tourney – which will begin February 25 – or else be subject to hoping for losses by other teams for their playoff hopes.

If the drama of a must-win game wasn't enough, Florida Memorial will also be honoring its graduating seniors Saturday as they play what will be their final regular season home game of their careers as Lions.

Ashleign Gary, Danielle Bailey, Shawnice King, and Isis Lane will all be honored prior to tip-off with a special presentation by head coach Gregory Stanback and his coaching staff.

The seniors – and the rest of the Lady Lions – will be looking to avenge their January road loss to the Wildcats (18-7, 12-5). Johnson and Wales has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance season this year, climbing up to and clinching the No. 3 spot in the conference standings. Ironically, if the Lions do get the better of JWU Saturday and end up sitting in the No. 6 seed, Florida Memorial will have to face off against the Lady Wildcats in the first round of the Sun Conference tournament next week.

First things first, FMU needs to earn a victory Saturday; and that means its leading scorer and rebounder – Lane – has a productive day. The 6-foot-4 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma native struggled in Florida Memorial's loss to Keiser this past Thursday – scoring just seven points – and it weighed down the Lions despite their best efforts to overcome it.

Junior guard had a bounce-back game Thursday – scoring a game-high 23 points – but she was the only FMU player to cross the double-digit-point threshold.

It should give FMU confidence that Lane did have a solid night in its first meeting with the Wildcats. She posted a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double in 39 minutes of action; Gamble added 14 and Gary chipped in with 10. Florida Memorial's downfall the first time around was its inability to slow down Johnson and Wales star forward Tianna Ayulo. Ayulo went for 23 points and 11 rebounds while also dishing out five assists.

The other big factor for Florida Memorial Saturday will be winning the rebound battle. JWU completely dominated the backboards in January, snatching down 59 boards compared to just 35 for the Lions.