December 4, 2015

Gainesville, FL – The Santa Fe Saints and the FCSAA #4 Northwest Florida State Raiders traded the lead five times on Friday night in Gainesville before the Raiders were able to pull away down the stretch on the strength of made free throws to pull out an 83-71 win over the Saints.

SF (5-6) trailed by as many as nine in the first half, but closed the half on a 10-0 run to take a 31-30 lead into the locker room.  Desa'Rai Shaw led the comeback effort, nailing back to back threes.

The third quarter was back and forth, with each team taking turns with the lead.  Santa Fe took a six point lead at the 6:41 mark of the third quarter on Brianca Robert's third three pointer of the game.

Over the remainder of the third quarter, NWF outscored the Saints 22-8 to take an eight point lead into the fourth.

SF hung around in the fourth, cutting it to four with just under three minutes remaining, but the Raiders came up with some clutch baskets, and made their free throws over the final minute to ice the game.

Sonya Franklin led SF with 21 points, 17 of them in the second half.  Brianca Roberts had 12, and Rayven Wade had another double double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.  NWF's Tia Sanders led all scorers with 30 points.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow in Gainesville at 1:00 PM.

For complete schedules, stats, and more information please visit www.santafesaints.com. 

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