ST. LEO, Fla. -- The Barry Buccaneers went into the Lions Den and came away with an 81-78 win over Saint Leo in the Sunshine State Conference women's basketball tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday night in the Bowman Center. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final:  #5 Barry 81, #4 Saint Leo 78
Records: Saint Leo (17-12), Barry (16-9)
All-Time Series: Barry leads 48-23

SUMMARY:

• 1Q - The Lions started out hot, taking a 12.-4 lead after the first 3:32 on a fast-break basket from Kiki McIntyre. Still trailing by eight after an exchange of baskets, the Bucs ent on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to just three. The Lions pushed the lead back to eight before an Emma Hergot bucket made the margin six. | Saint Leo 23, Barry 17
• 2Q - The Bucs cut the lead back to three with just under four minutes left in the half, but the Lions scored eight straight points to take their biggest lead of the half, 43-32 on a fast-break basket from Amanda Ulrich with 1:28 to play. A three-pointer from Camilla Flefil and a three-point play from Harriet Swindells cut the lead to seven at the intermission.  | Saint Leo 45, Barry 38
• 3Q - The Liosn got a pair of free throws right out of the locker room, but Barry went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to one, 47-46, on a transition basket from Ashleigh Pink. Nerea Baena gave the Bucs their first lead of the ball game at the 2:16 mark with a layup from Ashia Pool. Ulrich lead an 8-2 run to put the Lions back up by five before Swinndells beat the buzzer from beyond the arc. | Saint Leo 62, Barry 60
• 4Q - The final period saw four ties and five lead changes. Hergot's three-point play to start the period, gave Barry a lead, but the Lions score the next five points to re-take the lead. Pool keyed a 7-0 rn for the Bucs to put the Bucs back in front 70-67 with 5:17 to play. Then it was the Lions' turn for a run, scoring six straight, capped by a pair from the line from McIntyre. Pool tied the game with another three-point play on the Bucs' next possession, then Alex Buttton did the same for Saint Leo. Barry's defense, which has been a key to the Bucs' success all year, finally clamped down on the Lions over the last three minutes. Hergot gave the Bucs the lead with a pair of free throws with 2:32 and Pool tied the Bucs' biggest lead at three points with a floater in the lane. After Tamara Shash trimmed the lead to one, the Lions had a chance to take the lead on a trip to the line, but Button missed both charity shots and Swindells turned around and hit her pair from the line. Shash missed a desperation heave at the buzzer and the Bucs held on.  | Barry 81, Saint Leo 78

NOTEWORTHY:

• Pool led the Bucs with a career-high 22 points and added seven rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal.
• Swindells and Hergot each had 17 points for the Bucs and Hergot added a team-high nine rebounds.
• Ulrich led the Lions with 24 points and 11 rebounds and Button had 19 points before missing those two crucial free throws. McIntyre added 12 points and five assists.
• Barry out-scored the Lions 44-30 in the paint.
• The win avenged the pair of losses to the Lions in the regular season, including on Saturday in Miami Shores.
• It is the first conference tournament win for the Bucs since beating Tampa 71-68 in 2018 at home. 
• It is their first-ever road win in the tournament.

ON THE HORIZON:

Barry faces regular-season champs Tampa in the Martinez Center on Thursday, Mar. 3 in the semifinals.