LAKE WALES, Fla. – In their home opener, Warner University women's basketball team lost to No. 21 Xavier University of Louisiana 63-44. The loss drops the Lady Royals' record to 1-1 to begin the 2015-16 season. The NAIA-I Nuggets are now 2-0 having defeated Webber International University in their season opener 47-42 over the weekend.
The Nuggets jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter thanks to poor shooting by the home team. The Lady Royals were 0-for-13 to start the game and trailed 15-5 at the end of the first quarter. All five points came from the free throw line.
I'munique Green scored a bucket on Warner's first possession of the second quarter to break the streak. The Lady Royals went 7-for-16 from the floor in the second half and got to within five points of the lead before the Nuggets closed the half on a 6-0 run.
The Lady Royals trailed at the break 32-21 behind seven first-half points from
Mariah Williams. Defensively, the Lady Royals forced nine Nuggets turnovers in the first half that led to nine points.
The Lady Royals came out and cut the deficit to eight, 34-26, just over a minute into the third quarter. It's as close as they would come however, as the Nuggets shot 40.7% from the floor including 4-of-7 from behind the arc in the second half to outpace Warner.
The Lady Royals were 25.9% shooters in the second half and were only 1-of-8 from deep. The Nuggets outscored the Lady Royals 14-6 in the fourth and final quarter to pull away with the 63-44 victory.
As a team the Lady Royals shot just 25% from the field in the game and were 1-for-14 from behind the arc after opening the season on a 7-for-11 clip on Saturday night.
Williams led all scorers with 11 points in the game. The senior also had five rebounds and four steals. Green followed with nine points and led the team with six rebounds.
Kaley Schmick led the bench effort with six points and two steals.
The Lady Royals return to the court tomorrow, Nov. 3, as part of a men's and women's doubleheader against Florida College in the Turner Athletic Center. The Lady Royals are up first at 5 p.m.
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