Santa Fe 64, Central Florida 61 (WBB)

The Lady Patriots dropped their Mid-Florida Conference opener on Wednesday, a disappointing 64-61 loss to rival Santa Fe.

No. 6 CF (12-7, 0-1 MFC) struggled mightily in the first half against the No. 9 Saints (12-5, 1-0), scoring just 17 points on 23 percent shooting and making just one of 10 attempts from 3-point range. Things got slightly better after halftime, as the Lady Patriots shot a respectable 50 percent from the floor and 38 percent from deep to erase Santa Fe's 10-point halftime lead and briefly tie the game. But some late turnovers and bad decisions doomed the home team to defeat.

Markeshia Grant had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists in a brilliant overall effort. Jamesha Willis added 14 points and Olivia Nino scored 10, but both Willis and Nino fouled out late to damage CF's comeback effort.

CF hosts Miami-Dade in a non-conference game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.