Bucs Control the Paint to Beat the Saints
Santa Fe made 12 threes, but FSW had 42 points in the paint
Fort Myers, FL
Santa Fe traveled to Florida SouthWestern State College on Wednesday, February 25th and lost 60-59.
The Saints took an early 8-2 lead with a three by Zion McRae and Lorianys Castanon Cruz and a two by Aniyah Anderson. The Bucs cut the Saints' lead to 15-14 at the end of the first quarter.
McRae and Castanon Cruz both added a three at the start of the second quarter to extend the Saints' lead to 21-14. Back-to-back layups by the Bucs cut the lead to 21-19, and the Bucs took the lead 26-25 at halftime with a layup right before the buzzer.
The Bucs shot 0/10 from three in the first half, but had 11 points off of seven Saints turnovers.
Claudia Ordonez Cabello made a three on the first possession of the second half to give the Saints the lead 28-26. The Bucs' first made three of the game gave them the lead 31-28, and three straight turnovers by the Saints let the Bucs extend their lead to 40-30. Anderson ended the Bucs 9-0 run with a three to put the Saints' deficit at 40-33, and the Saints cut their deficit to 49-45 heading into the fourth quarter after a pair of threes by Ordonez Cabello, a three by Castanon Cruz, and a layup by Blanca Garcia.
A three and a layup by McRae gave the Saints the lead 59-57, but the Bucs made a three to go up 60-59 with three minutes left in the game. Neither team scored in the final three minutes, and the Bucs held on to win 60-69.
Lorianys Castanon Cruz led the Saints with 21 points and 5 threes, while Zion McRae scored 13 points and Claudia Ordonez Cabello scored 11 points. The team shot 50% from three (12/24) but 38.5% from the field (20/52).
The Saints will travel to Hillsborough Community College on Saturday, February 28th at 2:00pm before returing home for their season finale against St. Petersburg College on Monday, March 2nd at 5:00pm.
