Hernando Reporter

The Saint Leo women's basketball team came up short after battling #8/20 University of Tampa, Wednesday evening. The Lions fell to the Spartans, 68-59.

With the loss the Green & Gold drop to 9-4 overall and 2-4 in the Sunshine State Conference.

The midweek conference battle featured back and forth play with the nationally ranked #8/20 University of Tampa and the Saint Leo Lions. Both teams exchanged the lead six times throughout the game and had eight ties.

The Green & Gold controlled the lead for 3:20 minutes of play, while the #8/20 Spartans controlled the lead for 33 minutes. Saint Leo had their best run of seven points at the 8:58 mark in the third quarter.

The Lions shot an impressive 91.7 percent from the line (11-of-12), finished shooting 31.8% from the field (21-of-66) and 26.1% from downtown (6-of-23).

Amanda Ulrich finished as the top scorer for the Lions with 24 points. She shot 9-of-22 from the field, and 4-of-12 from three-point range. Alex Button was right behind her finishing with second on the team in points with her 15. Button hit some clutch shots late in the game to keep the Lions battling with the nationally ranked Spartans. She shot 5-of-12 from the field and finished perfect at the line for the Lions at 5-for-5.

The Lions forced nine steals throughout the game with Kiki McIntyre leading the Green & Gold with three steals. The Lions scored nine points off turnovers.

The Lions will return to action Saturday, January 7th when they welcome Sunshine State Conference opponent Lynn University. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM.

For the latest news, updates, and information on Saint Leo Women's Basketball, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Original source can be found here.