ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Dec. 18, 2016) – The Widener University women's basketball team dropped its second and final contest at the St. Pete Classic to St. Norbert by a 67-50 score on Sunday afternoon at Eckerd College's McArthur Center.
 
St. Norbert (5-4) utilized strong shooting by hitting seven of its first nine field goal attempts to jump out to a 15-10 lead. Brianna Byrne, who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark yesterday, converted a layup at the 7:13 mark and was among seven players to find the scoresheet in the early going. Freshman Madison Ireland (Garnet Valley, Pa.), who led the Pride with five points during the frame, sank a free throw to create a 23-13 score by the end of the first quarter.
 
Widener chipped away at the deficit and cut it in half during the second quarter when junior Julia Venturelli (Bridgewater, N.J.) canned a 3-pointer to make it 25-20 with 7:49 on the clock. The guard continued to stay hot from long range and connected two more times from beyond the arc to make it a one-possession game by the end of the quarter. By closing the quarter on a 13-7 run, Widener only trailed 36-33 at the recess.
 
The Pride came within one point on three occasions in the third quarter, beginning with an Ireland layup to open the scoring for both teams. Freshman Devan Rimmer (Perkasie, Pa.) hit a trey and junior Nikki Petri (Congers, N.Y.) converted a layup to bring the margin down to 46-45 with 2:44 remaining, but the Green Knights were able to shake off each comeback attempt by answering on the other end. St. Norbert led 52-45 at the end of the third and went ahead by double figures in the fourth to later earn a 17-point win and end the weekend undefeated.
 
Regan Carmichael paced a balanced attack for St. Norbert by contributing 15 points. Sarah Ratajczyk finished with 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting performance from the floor, while Byrne filled the stat sheet with 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists.
 
Venturelli led the way for Widener in the setback by scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds, which were both team bests. Rimmer registered seven points, five boards and matched a game high with four swipes.
 
Widener (4-7) will next trek to Neumann for its final game of the calendar year on Friday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m.