Box Score
A fast start proved to be enough for the Moccasins, as they held off a late rally by Eckerd and downed the Tritons 77-69 in their Sunshine State Conference game at St. Petersburg Wednesday night.
The win kept the Moccasins in sole possession of first place in the SSC with an 11-2 mark with three league games remaining. It also put them one win away from their first 20-win season under coach Jarrod Olson, as they improved their overall record to 19-4. Eckerd fell to 14-10, 7-7 in the SSC.
Scoring the first eight points of the game, the Moccasins built an 18-3 advantage in just over five minutes and led 40-28 at halftime. Megan Dzikas and Michaela Hawley each scored 16 points in the first half.
Eckerd wouldn't let the Moccasins pull completely away in the second half, due in large part to Lotte Tobiasen. Averaging just 3.6 points per game, she poured in a game-high 25 for the Tritons. The Moccasin lead dwindled to six at 75-69, but Dzikas sank a pair of free throws with 29.5 seconds left to clinch the win. Dzikas finished with a season-high 21 points. Chelesa Johnson had 19. Hawley finished with 18 and was 7-8 from the field to improve her SSC-leading field goal percentage to 62.1. Emma Cannon registered her seventh straight double-double, 15th of the season, with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
The Moccasins will try to avenge one of their two SSC losses when they take on Rollins Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Jenkins Field House.
