Box Score
LAKELAND â€" More than four minutes into Thursday night’s game between Florida Southern and Florida Tech, both teams were still looking for their first points. The Moccasins eventually found plenty of them, all the while making sure the Panthers never did. With Michaela Hawley and Morgan Lamberg combining for 30 points, Florida Southern defeated Florida Tech 54-35 in its long-awaited home opener.
Florida Southern (7-1, 1-1 Sunshine State Conference, ranked #25) had played its first seven games on the road, and given up 60 points or less in all but one. Thursday night’s effort topped all off them, however, as the Mocs allowed the Panthers (6-3, 0-2) to shoot just 17.9 percent from the floor while making 12-of-67 shots. It was the fewest points they’ve allowed in a conference game since an 87-35 win over Saint Leo in 2000, and the first time in six years they’ve held a conference opponent to less than 40. The Panthers' point total was the lowest by a Moccasin opponent under Jarrod Olson.
Neither team scored until the 15:22 mark of the first half when Hawley took an inbounds pass off the baseline from Danielle Walsh, spun around in the lane, and dropped in a layup. Hawley then came up with a steal on the other end of the court and was on the receiving end of a Sofie Lundberg pass for another basket. Fouled in the act of shooting, she completed the 3-point play for a 5-0 Moccasin lead.
Meanwhile, Florida Tech missed its first 10 shots from the field, and was 3-for-24 at one point while Florida Southern steadily expanded its lead. All three of those baskets though were 3-pointers, two by Ashton McClairen and one by Katie Kingfield, and it helped the Panthers stay within one point with nine minutes left in the half. That’s when the Moccasins pulled away for good.
Leading 12-11, the Mocs went on an 11-0 run over the next 5½ minutes, with all of those points coming from Lamberg and Lundberg. By halftime, the score was 28-16, the Mocs were shooting 48 percent, and the Panthers were shooting just 17 percent with more than twice as many turnovers (12) as field goals (5).
The second half played out in similar fashion. Florida Tech started 1-for-10, while Florida Southern overcame another early dry spell to push its lead to 20 with 14:23 remaining.
Hawley scored 10 of the first 14 second-half points for the Moccasins before fouling out with 4:37 to play. She still led the Mocs with 16 in the game, and left them with a 42-30 lead when she departed.
Even with the SSC’s leading scorer on the bench for the rest of the night, the Mocs continued to score, with Walsh stepping up immediately. The senior forward kept the Panthers from ever getting any closer than they already were when she drained a 3-pointer from the top of the circle with one second on the shot clock to put the Mocs ahead by 15. Lundberg then put the finishing touches on the win with a 3-pointer with 1:04 remaining.
While Hawley scored 16 for the Mocs, Lamberg scored 14, and Lundberg scored 12. Lamberg also had nine rebounds, six of Florida Southern’s nine steals, and two blocked shots.
Walsh had just five points, but all of them came in the closing minutes after Hawley fouled out, and she also added a career-high 10 assists while playing all 40 minutes.
Tracy Fosterling led Florida Southern with 11 rebounds.
Florida Tech’s leading scorer, Ida Gustafsson, had just eight points, and McClairen scored seven. The Panthers were seven-for-22 from behind the arc, where they scored 21 of their 35 points.
Florida Southern will be off until December 18 and 19, when it hosts the Terrace Hotel Classic to end the first semester. The Moccasins will play Delta State that Sunday at 3:00 p.m., and Alabama-Huntsville that Monday at 5:00 p.m.
