LAKE WALES, Fla. - The Warner Women's Basketball team hosted the first annual Warner University Sunny Southern Classic this weekend, hosting Thomas University (Ga.), Andrew College, and New College of Florida for a 4 game round-robin event in the Turner Athletic Center. The Royals opened the Classic against Thomas University on Friday night, winning in a defensive battle that ended in a 41-35 final score in favor of the Royals. Warner followed that up with a back-and-forth game with Andrew College where Warner's defense came up big in the 4th quarter to hold the Fighting Tigers to only 7 points to take the 57-53 win and sweep the weekend.
Game 1: Warner - 41 vs. Thomas (Ga.) - 35
Friday night was a special one for the Royals, marking their Home Opener, starting a new tradition in the Sunny Southern Classic, and honoring all those that fought or are fighting breast cancer in their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Out. The Royals took time during the first media timeout of the game to honor Assistant Coach
Kandace Warren, who survived breast cancer at a young age, and honor all those in attendance who have been affected by breast cancer.
The Royals and Nighthawks kicked off the weekend with a back-and-forth opening quarter as the two teams exchanged leads twice and battled with one another to establish themselves in the first 10 minutes of play. The Nighthawks were able to find a slim lead after the 1st with a 14-13 lead. Warner's defense then stepped up in a big way in the 2nd quarter, holding the visiting Nighthawks to only 6 points in the period and take a 24-20 lead into half time. The 3rd quarter was another battle as the Nighthawks cut into the Royals lead and head to the 4th with Warner leading by a score of 34-31. Both defenses stepped up in the 4th quarter as neither team could establish their offense and pull away from the other, but Warner's defense continued their impressive night to hold Thomas to only 4 points to secure a 41-to-35 win.
Carissa Marthy and
Kali Harris lead the way for the Royals on the scoreboard Friday night as both players recorded 9 points each. Marthy nearly recorded a double-double in the win as she also secured 9 total rebounds on the night and added 1 assist, 1 block and 3 steals in the defensive battle.
Lacienega Crockett added 7 points for the Royals and also secured 3 steals with 4 rebounds and 1 assist.
Warner ended the night with 8 different Royals scoring points and 9 different Royals securing rebounds in an all-around team win. The Royals finished the game shooting 13-43 (30.2%) overall, 1-11 (9.1%) from three, and 14-23 (60.9%) from the free throw line.
Game 2: Warner - 57 vs. Andrew College - 53
The Royals followed up Friday night's performance with a back-and-forth battle that saw Warner overcome a 9 point 2nd half deficit to secure the weekend sweep. As the two teams battled to establish themselves in the 1st quarter, Andrew would come out of the opening 10 minutes with a slim 10-9 lead. Despite the two programs playing the majority of the 2nd quarter within 1 possession of each other, the Fighting Tigers finished the half with a 10-0 run to enter the break up 32-24. After trailing by as many as 9 points in the 3rd, Warner continued to chip away at the Andrew lead and would enter the final quarter down only 3 points after winning the 3rd qtr 19-14. The Royals defense stepped up again to close out the game holding the high powered Andrew offense to only 7 points in th 4th. Warner's defense shutout the Fighting Tigers for the final 4 minutes and 50 seconds as the Royals would outscore Andrew 14 to 7 to finish the game and earn the 57-53 victory.
Warner saw 4 different players record double-digit points in the win with first year Royal
Kali Harris leading the way with 13 points off the bench. Harris also secured 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block and 1 assist in an impressive all around night for the Junior. Crockett was close behind with 12 points of her own, while
Bianca Barroso and
Anabelle Gogol added 10 points each. Senior
Carissa Marthy tied her career-high with 16 rebounds, 10 of which were on the offensive end of the court, while also coming up with a game-high 4 steals and added 4 points and 1 assist in the win.
The Royals finished the game shooting 22-61 (36.1%) from the field, 2-12 (16.7%) from beyond the arc, and 11-18 (61.1%) from the free throw line. The Royals also racked up 26 points in the paint and 16 second chance points, showing their strength under the basket. Warner's defense also created 14 points off turnovers in the all-around win.
Warner Individual Classic Stat Leaders:
Points: Kali Harris - 22
Rebounds: Carissa Marthy - 25
Assists: Lacienega Crockett &
Bianca Barroso - 4
Steals: Carissa Marthy - 7
Up Next:
The Royals will look to extend their winning streak when they host University of Fort Lauderdale on Friday, Nov. 6th with tip-off scheduled for 7:00pm.
#GodBlessGoRoyals | #TogetherAsOne
