Saint Leo, Fla.- Lynn University's women's basketball team fell to 6-8 overall and 0-5 in Sunshine State Conference play after a 54-50 loss to Saint Leo (6-9, 1-4 SSC) on the road on Saturday afternoon. Charla Nelson-James had a career night with a season-best 22 points while shattering her previous career-best of rebounds per game with 23. Her previous best was set on January 21, 2012, against Florida Southern when she logged 17.

Lynn and Saint Leo exchanged leads five times throughout the opening half. The Fighting Knights were down 6-0 to begin the game but battled back to even the scored at 8-all with 11:01 remaining. Lynn had its largest lead of the half with 1:06 to play when Tylar Tracy hit her first three-pointer of the half but Saint Leo tied the game with a layup by Melissa Jackson to head into the break knotted 20-all.

In a very balanced half, each team had 14 points in the paint and 11 turnovers. SLU slightly edged Lynn 19-17 in rebounds and steals, 6-5. Nelson-James led all scorers with 11 points and seven boards. Additionally, both teams shot 33.3 percent from the field. 

SLU pulled ahead by 14 points, 42-28, with 10:14 to play. The Fighting Knights went on a 5-0 run to bring the score within nine with 9:39 remaining in regulation. Lynn went on a 12-2 run over a span of five minutes to trail by two, 49-47, with 56 seconds remaining. A series of successful free throws by the Lions would secure their first victory of the SSC season, 54-50. 

Lynn improved to shoot 34.2 percent from the floor in the second half and out-rebounded the Lions 29-15. Nelson-James accounted for 16 of the Fighting Knights rebounds, 10 of which were defensive boards.

Nelson-James's season-best performance of 22 points and 23 boards led all scorers and was her second-consecutive double-double and fourth this season. Sharneka McCatty was a rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards. Lynn scored 34 points in the paint overall and 18 on second chance opportunities. SLU's bench contributed 17 points while Lynn's had just two.

Lynn will host Barry on Wednesday, January 21, at 5:30 pm in the de Hoernle Sports & Cultural Center. Fans can follow the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com. Don't forget to follow @Lynn_Knights on Twitter and Instagram.