GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Daytona State and Santa Fe College women's basketball knew what was at stake in Saturday's Central Conference showdown, and the Saints blew out the Falcons 73-55 n the final regular season game to secure third place in the Central Conference and put themselves in contention for an at-large bid to the FCSAA / NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament.

The Falcons never led, and Santa Fe had an efficient offensive outing keep DSC at a distance in the final game on the home floor for the sophomores. Several alumni were also on campus today to take in the game and cheer on the Saints...

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Saints accounted for the game's first nine points and raced out to an 18-3 lead in the first seven minutes of play.

SF had four three-pointers in that stretch of play, with two coming from the reigning NJCAA Player of the Week, Malea Brown.

Although Daytona State sunk a basket from deep in the final seconds of the first quarter, SF led 21-9.

The Falcons controlled the start of the second quarter and made a push, drawing to within four points at 25-21 with 6:46 left until the half.

The Saints responded in a big way, however, with a 12-2 run to push the lead right back to double-digits, 37-23. Selah Reddick had two driving baskets in the paint to cap off the run, and the Saints would lead 37-25 at the half.

Daytona State got to within seven points nearing the midway point of the third quarter, but a 12-4 spurt for the Saints kept the lead sizeable.

Leading 51-42 with the clock winding down in the third, Reddick dribbled into a bank shot from three to four feet beyond the arc to beat the buzzer.

The Saints never looked back, and led by double-digits through the remainder of the victory to take the season series with Daytona State, 2-1.

KEY STATISTICS

SF led 48-38 in the rebounding category.

The Saints did well to take care of the ball and were forced into just ten turnovers.

SF went 29-of-70 from the field with eight triples, while holding the Falcons to a far-less efficient 18-of-58 display with six three-pointers.

Santa Fe had 38 points in the paints, while Daytona State had just 14.

It was a balanced scoring day for the Saints. Brown and Reddick each had 17, while Joey Delancy had 12 points apiece.

Brown snagged seven rebounds, six steals, and dished out four assists to add to her stat line. Delancy had a double-double, controlling a game-high ten rebounds.

UP NEXT

After securing third place in the Central Conference, the Saints (13-15, 5-7 Central) will now await to see if they have received one of the two at-large bids for the Region 8 State Tournament. The event will be held on March 8, 10, and 11 in Niceville, Fla. at Northwest Florida State College.

Santa Fe's postseason resume will be compared to the other third-place finishers in each respective conference, which include Miami Dade, Hillsborough, and Chipola, all vying for two spots. SF has beaten Miami Dade, won the season series with Hillsborough 3-1, and did not play Chipola.

The full bracket will be announced on March 2.