Santa Fe College freshman guard Lanita Bartley was unstoppable Wednesday night against Daytona State College.
The Falcons were on fire during the first half, scoring just 10 seconds into the game, but Bartley wouldn't have it.
The Saints (16-4, 5-0 Mid-Florida Conference), behind Bartley's 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, came from behind and beat the Falcons 64-56.
Bartley kept it straight to the point after the game, not mentioning her individual performance.
"We worked hard, and now we're 5-0 in our conference," Bartley said.
With 2:30 left on the clock in the first half and the Saints down 29-27, Bartley scored off a stolen pass, tying the game for the first time since the opening tipoff. The Saints built off Bartley's momentum and put 5 points on the board in the last two minutes of the half.
"The kids played hard, but they need to execute better on defense and play harder," SFC coach Chanda Stebbins said. "We had some players step up and play through injuries."
Down, but definitely not out, the Falcons pushed hard to regain their lead over the Saints in the second half. Falcons freshman guard JaQuavia Couch sank a three, making it a one-point game.
Bartley's performance was unmatched, as she was all over the court stealing balls and making shots. At one point, she widened the Saints' lead to 6 points by hitting a shot while falling down.
With seven minutes left in the game, Couch retaliated and tied the score at 56.
Foul shooting stepped to the forefront in the final minutes of the game, but foul after foul, neither team could perform at the free-throw line with the clock winding down.
With 3:30 remaining, SFC guard Quanisha Dixon hurled the ball from half court to center Letiecia Davenport, who laid the ball up to put the Saints ahead for good. The Saints put up two more shots in the last 30 seconds, solidifying their win.
Davenport led the Saints in scoring with 16 points.
