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On Wednesday, the Santa Fe Saints took on their conference rival: the St. Petersburg Titans. The Titans took an early lead and ran with it for the entire game, winning 78-55.
First Half
The Titans started off strong, going on an early 8-0 run. As the Saints fought on the defensive side to get a few stops, they struggled to capitalize on the other side of the floor. Trying to give her team a boost of energy, Saints guard Malea Brown hit a step back three. The Saints bench stayed highly involved, cheering on their teammates on the court. As the Titans ran through their half court sets and pushed the ball on fast breaks, they led at the end of the first quarter, 23-14. As the Saints struggled to rebound, they fought for every loose ball. The two teams went back and fourth, and when the Saints tried to get into a rhythm, Titans Olivia Delancy knocked down a deep three. The Saints continued to fight, cutting the Titans lead to only six. However, this didn’t last as the half came to a close with the Titans up, 43-31.
Second Half
The Saints started the second half with a stronger offensive presence as they went through their progressions for better shot selections. On the defensive end, they had a higher focus on fundamentals playing with high hands and closing out of shots. Saints guard Selah Reddick worked on both sides of the court, getting steals and converting them to easy transition shots. However, Titans guard Jaylen Ponder answered back with a three and hit a floater. Unfortunately, the Titans proved to be too much as they continued to cut through the defense and out rebound the Saints. Throughout the game, the Saints switched from man coverage to a 2-3 and a 3-2 zone, and were trying out a 1-2-2. However, nothing seemed to be working. As the third quarter came to an end, the Titans were up 61-42, extending their lead by 19.
The Titans continued to dominate, taking over the fourth quarter. St. Petersburg ended the game winning 78-55, finishing with four players scoring double digits. The Titans also finished with 57 rebounds, out performing the Saints by 21. Delancy led the team in both categories, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds. With this win, the Titans improved their record to 18-7 with a 6-1 conference record.
On the other hand, the Saints drop to 10-13 and fall to 2-5 in conference play. Brown led the team in scoring with 17, while Joey Delancy had the most rebounds with eight. The team looks to move forward and focus on their next game against Daytona State College.
