The Miami Dade Sharks women's basketball team lost a close one to the St. Petersburg Titans 70-60, Wednesday evening. The loss drops the Sharks to 3-11 while the Titans move to 3-13.
Both teams got off to a slow start in Wednesday's matchup but a three-pointer by Titans' Carliss Johnson got the scoring started. After an empty possession on the other end, St. Petersburg punished the Sharks from deep to make the score 6-0. Simmons was able to stop the bleeding and get Miami Dade on the board by nailing two free throws. A 7-0 run by the Titans made the score 11-2 but a drive by Renae Brant took the Sharks to the line again. She would sink both shots from the charity stripe. St. Pete was able to keep the pressure on and make the score 27-10 with 2:04 remaining in the first quarter. A steal by Zabaleta Alarcon led to a transition three by Farida Khaled Hassan Radwan which prompted a timeout by Titans Head Coach Denisa Davidson. The Titans would finish the quarter making two straight layups, keeping the momentum going into the second quarter.
The Sharks kicked off the second quarter with a steal from Iva Chokaloska. Quimby was able to capitalize and score on the other end. Quimby then connected from downtown to make the score 39-23. A strong finish through contact by Brant would get the Sharks a bit closer. Davidson would call a timeout to stop the momentum, but the Sharks kept rolling. Another steal led to a finish by the Sharks, making the score 39-34. St. Petersburg would go on to finish the quarter on a 4-0 run to make the score 43-34.
Johnson would kick off the scoring in the second half, this time by drilling a pull up jumper from the elbow. Iva Chokaloska would hit a deep three to get the Sharks to 39, but the Titans just kept attacking on the other end. With the score at 53-41, Titans' forward Kassadi King would go to the line after drawing the foul. She would go on to complete the three-point play. This would prompt Sharks Head Coach Susan Summons to call a timeout to stop the bleeding. With 2:45 remaining in the third, Genesis Zabaleta Alarcon would come up empty on her jumper and the Titans took advantage end by driving to the cup for two. With 20 seconds left and the lead at 14 for the Titans, they would hoist up a three pointer but come up empty to finish off the third quarter.
The Sharks would look to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, but the Titans were able to hold them off. Chokaloska would hit a corner three to cut the lead to 7 but St. Pete scored once again to pull apart. With 1:46 remaining in the fourth, the deficit seemed too much to overcome as the Sharks would be down 14. Quimby would go to the line for two and hit both but that was not enough.
The Sharks play at home next Tuesday when they take on the Titans from Eastern Florida State College. The game is slated for Tuesday, January 23 at 5 PM.