ST. THOMAS, VI. (Nov. 4, 2022) – Florida National's women's basketball team had a solid showing on day two of the University of the Virgin Island's HBCU Classic, executing a 70-62 victory over Southern University at New Orleans. This is the first win of the year for Florida National, who came out swinging early ending the first half with 19 point lead. The Conquistadors now sit at 1-2 through their first three games while SUNO earned their first loss of the year sitting at 2-1 in the very young 2022-23 season
The first quarter saw FNU get out to a 5-2 lead with two quick scores off a layup from Natalie Larranaga and a three-pointer from Janelisse Marty Marrero. Kaylee Llanos had four points for the Conquistadors helping to give her team one of the best starts to a contest so far this season. SUNO's Jordan Harris put her team on her back in the first quarter of play scoring eight points to cut FNU's lead to 22-17 going into the second.
The second quarter saw Florida National's lead balloon to double digits as the conquistadors took a 44-25 lead into halftime off 14 points from three-point specialist Llanos. SUNO was having a hard time shooting the ball and never got into a real shooting rhythm through the first two quarters. The Conquistadors 19 point lead is the largest lead FNU has held going into the second half so far this season.
The third period was another solid performance for the Conquistadors as they shot the ball at 48.9% through the first three periods of play. This was a far cry from their poor shooting performances in their first two games of the year. Larranaga had 12 points heading into the fourth and FNU had a comfortable 57-41 lead. Llanos was rebounding the ball well for an undersized guard, picking up four crucial rebounds and 19 points through three quarters.
In the fourth, Florida National put away a solid SUNO team that found some life in the four cutting FNU's load to six with under a minute to go. Two cutch free throws from Kathyann Frese-Castillo sealed the game for the Conquistadors and made the final score 70-62
Llanos and Larranaga both put up double-digit points scoring 25 and 17 respectively. Marty Marrero put up a solid performance scoring eight points and collecting six rebounds.
Up Next: Florida National takes on the host team of the HBCU Classic to close out their stay in the Virgin Islands. The Buccaneers of the University of the Virgin Islands hit the court against the Conquistadors tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.
