Warriors Advance to Championship Game
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Third seeded Webber International (22-6) defeated seventh seeded Ave Maria (16-14) 67-56 in the semifinals of The Sun Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Don Shula’s Hotel and Golf Club at the Fernandez Family Center. With the win, Webber International advances to Saturday’s championship game.
Deslyn Applewhite recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Warriors. Applewhite also registered a game-high five steals and dished out five assists. Also scoring in double figures was Shakeria White who scored a team-high 13 points and Jesica Colson who hit four three-pointers for her 12 points.
Annie Artise led the Gyrenes with 16 points and was the only Ave Maria player in double figures. Artis hit three three-pointers and also pulled down seven rebounds. Yvanessa Vincent led AMU on the glass with eight rebounds.
The Warriors led most of the affair taking a 31-24 advantage into intermission, then extending their lead to 12 points early in the second half. The Gyrenes battled back to cut their deficit to two points with the score 44-42 with 11:17 to play. But ultimately, WIU pulled away, outscoring AMU by four points in the second half.
Webber International awaits the winner of the second semifinal between no. 1 seed St. Thomas and fifth seeded Thomas (Ga.). The Championship Game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Live video coverage of the championship game will be provided at https://new.livestream.com/stusports and live stats at http://www.sidearmstats.com/stu/wbball/