MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. | Florida Memorial dismantled Southeastern 94-64 at the FMU Wellness Center en route to their 14th straight conference victory, clinching the SUN Conference title for the first time since joining the league.
The Lions were led by four-time SUN Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Aliyah-Deen Ahmad, who was one assist shy of a triple-double and finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, and three steals.
“I’m kind of speechless,” said FMU women’s basketball head coach Gregory Stanback, who has led the Lions to a 20-5 record overall, including 14-1 in conference play. “We just played a tremendous second half defensively. We talked about some adjustments in the second half and it was our defense that created a lot of transition and easy baskets.”
“What can we really say,” said Ahmad. “We worked hard and came out a little slow, but we got it done as a team.”
Tianna Ayulo attracts four Southeastern defenders in a 30-point drumming over the Fire.
Two-time SUN Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Tianna Ayulo produced a game-high 28 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the dominant victory over the Fire while teammate Chantel Barnnett generated 25 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
2022-23 @SunConference Women’s Basketball Regular Season Champions!! Florida Memorial University! @FLMemorialUniv
https://t.co/saX1D1rqQD#fmu #lions #hbcu #blackhistorymonth #sunconference #wbb #naia #Florida
— FMU Lions Athletics (@GoFmuLions) February 12, 2023
As a team, FMU scored 50 points in the paint and produced 34 points off of 22 Fire turnovers. The Lions shot nearly 60 percent (39-of-66) from the field while their opponents shot less than 40 percent (24-of-61) from the floor.
FMU will host the 2022-23 SUN Women’s Basketball Tournament as a result of being the outright No. 1 seed. The Lions will have a bye in the first round of the tournament and now have an automatic berth to the semi-finals.
Courtesy: Florida Memorial Athletics
