Charles Bethel Jr.

Box Score

Florida Memorial FMU 13-16

Webber International WIU 18-11

Florida Memorial FMU

13-16

Final

Feb. 25, 2020

Webber International WIU

18-11

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Florida Memorial FMU	10	18	17	25	70
Webber International WIU	20	12	17	25	74

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 2/26/2020 12:27:00 AM | J.T. Wilcox, Sports Information Director

FMU Fights To End, Falls To Webber International In Sun Conference Opening Round

BABSON PARK, Fla. – Despite its best efforts to mount a comeback, No. 5 seed Florida Memorial University's women could never truly overcome the early deficit it fell into as No. 4 seed Webber International ended up leading wire-to-wire in an emotional 74-70 game in the opening round of the Sun Conference women's basketball tournament in Webber's Sabbagh Athletic Center.

FMU could've easily folded up its proverbial tent when it fell behind 66-57 with just over a minute-and-a-half to play. Instead, the Lady Lions – who had faced a 9-point deficit early in the fourth quarter – went on a 10-2 run in the span of a minute to cut the Warriors' lead down to 69-67. Florida Memorial would get as close as one (71-70) two possessions later after junior guard Airneisha Gamble completed a three-point play.

Webber International, which will move on to the second round where it will face undefeated No. 1 seed Southeastern University, extended its lead to 73-70 with a pair of free throws after the Lions deliberately fouled to preserve time. Gamble tried to tie the game with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, but it missed the mark and fell into the hands of a Webber defender.

The Warriors tacked on another free throw with four seconds left, sealing the final 74-70 margin and ending the Lions' season.

Just like the previous two meetings between the teams, Tuesday's game was a competitive contest. Florida Memorial won the first meeting back in November in Babson Park (72-66), but the Warriors defeated the Lions on their home floor in January (63-61) and won the most important matchup Tuesday night.

Florida Memorial (14-15), which lost its final two regular season games prior to falling in the opening round of the Sun Conference tourney, saw Webber International score the first seven points of the game before it was able to see a shot go through the net. After FMU got into the flow of the game and faced a 12-10 deficit with just over two minutes left in the first quarter, the Warriors closed the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 10-point lead at the end of one.

That 10-point lead was enough to keep the Lady Lions in the trail position the rest of the night. Florida Memorial outscored Webber in the second quarter (18-12), but the team's ended up playing even through the second half.

Gamble led Florida Memorial with 21 points, though it came on a volume of 19 shots as she played all 40 minutes Tuesday. Senior Shawnice King scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds off the bench in her final game as a Lion. Anjelie Tirone added 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench, but fouled out in 17 minutes of action.

Though FMU head coach Gregory Stanback got the tangible offensive contributions that have typically spelled success for his squad, he didn't quite get enough from senior and team leading scorer Isis Lane. The 6-foot-4 Lane did finish with 10 points – four below her nightly average – and tied Tirone for a team-high eight boards, but she didn't have the type of impact on the game expected from a player of her caliber.

Webber International also had four players to finish with double-figure points Tuesday while also shooting 40 percent from the field compared to the 32 percent shot by the Lions.