Shawnelle Campbell had 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
LAKE WALES, Fla. – The Lady Royals basketball team used six second half three pointers to put away the Fire of Southeastern University in the first round of The Sun Conference tournament on Tuesday night. The Lady Royals opened things up in the second half and cruised to the 70-49 victory. The Fire close out their season with a 12-17 record and the Lady Royals improve to 15-16.
It was a sluggish start for both teams with only 15 total points scored after nine minutes of play. After trailing for the first three minutes, Tracy Gentry gave the Lady Royals their first lead of the game, 5-4, with a three pointer at the 17:09 mark. The Lady Royals maintained the advantage for the next 13 minutes but it was not without contest; the Fire cut the Warner lead to one on five separate occasions.
Southeastern’s Ashley Wilson gave the Fire the lead, 26-25, with less than four minutes remaining but Kiara Reeves swung the game back in favor of the Lady Royals with a layup on Warner’s next possession. Tracy Gentry nailed a three pointer with less than a minute left in the half to extend the Lady Royals’ lead to 31-26. Warner carried the lead into the break.
Gentry led all first half scorers with nine points. Shawnelle Campbell put together a strong first half totaling eight points, five rebounds and five assists. For the Fire, Liz Capps and Breckley Neale each had seven points in the opening period.
The Lady Royals came out of halftime on a blistering pace, blowing the five point first half game wide open on an 18-8 run over the first six minutes. Warner used four shots from behind the arc to distance themselves. Stephanie Wills,Tracy Gentry and Shawnelle Campbell were the catalyst for the run. Wills and Gentry each hit two three pointers while Campell score four points of her own and dished three assists during the run.
Wills gave the Lady Royals their biggest lead of the game with another three pointer at the 10:22 mark, 60-34. In the half, the Lady Royals connected on six shots from behind the arc. Ashley Wilson brought the game to within 15 points, 64-49, with just under five minutes left in regulation, but the Fire would get no closer, falling to Warner University by a 70-49 final score.
For Southeastern, three players recorded double digit scoring nights; Breckley Neale finished with a team high 15 points while Ashley Wilson added 13 points and Casey Jensen chipped in 10 points.
Shawnelle Campbell’s night was nearly historic, finishing one assists shy of a triple-double. Campbell scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished a game high nine assists. Tracy Gentry also had 17 points on 5 of 13 shooting from three point land. Stephanie Wills poured in the 13 points and finished with eight rebounds. Kiara Reeves was strong off the bench for the Lady Royals scoring nine points in 13 minutes of action.
The Lady Royals outrebounded the Fire 44-32 in the game. Candace Smith led all players with 13 rebounds.
The Lady Royals will now advance to the Final Four hosted by Warner University this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25 and 26. No. 1 St. Thomas and No. 4 Warner will matchup in the second game on Friday beginning at 7 p.m. in the Turner Athletic Center. The 5 p.m. game will feature No. 2 Ave Maria vs. No. 3 Florida Memorial or No. 6 Webber International.