By Berry Aldridge, Sports Editor
The Armstrong State University women’s basketball team dropped a pair of nail-biter games in the first two contests of the season.
Nov 14th the Pirates lost 68-62 to Saint Leo University in the Saint Leo Classic.
Sophomore Brigitta Barta led all scorers with 18 points but the 29 percent field goal percentage by the Pirates was not enough to get the job done. Junior Shermika Harris notched 13 points of her own and senior Amber Howell scored 10.
Amazingly, all 62 Pirate points were scored by non-starters.
The following day the Pirates again found themselves on the losing side of a close game. This time Armstrong fell 67-71 to No. 23 ranked Rollins College.
Alexia Somerset stole the show for the Pirates, scoring 23 points and adding 11 rebounds, both game highs.
Three missed one-and-one free throws in the last two minutes stopped the Pirates momentum enough to help Rollins secure the win.
Harris finished with 20 points and lead all players with four assists. Senior Dee Hayward added 13 points as well.
The Pirates retake the court at home in the Alumni Arena versus Shaw University in the inaugural B.J. Ford Classic at 7:30 p.m.
The Armstrong Men’s basketball team travelled to Boca Raton, FL on Nov. 15 to take on the Lynn University Knights in the season opener. Unfortunately, the Pirates could not gain much momentum and lost the contest 59-86.
Lynn started hot, accumulating a quick 11-1 lead in the first two minutes of the game and never looked back.
By halftime the score was 44-31 in favor of the Knights.
Depth ultimately provided Lynn with the edge over Armstrong. The Knights’ bench scored an outstanding 52 points compared to just 16 from the Pirates bench.
Junior Shaquill Mitchell led the Pirates offensively with a solid 12 points while senior Emmanuel Tiluscar provided 11, and junior Jonathan Blair notched 10 points.
Senior Shema Sabiiti led all players with seven rebounds.
Armstrong travels to Valdosta, GA for the Valdosta State Classic Nov. 21 to face off against Carver Baptist at 6 p.m.
