Box Score
WASHINGTON, D.C. â€" Florida Southern’s bid for win number one on the season came down to the final two minutes against Bowie State, but the Bulldogs had just enough to hold off the Moccasins and take the win for themselves. In a game where neither team ever led by more than seven points, Bowie State pulled away in the closing moments for a 57-54 victory at the University of District of Columbia Classic.
Florida Southern (0-2) led 26-23 at halftime behind eight points from senior Kirstin McIntyre (Hopewell Junction, NY) and 45 percent shooting from the floor. Bowie State (2-0) was shooting just 33 percent at that point, but the Bulldogs turned it around in the second half when they shot 52 percent while the Mocs slipped to 37.
The first seven minutes of the second half saw four lead changes and two ties, with Bowie State’s Sandra Davis putting her team ahead 34-33 at the 12:40 mark. As it turned out, that basket gave the Bulldogs the lead for good, but it was never comfortable. Even when Jasmine McIntosh and Brooke Miles pushed the lead up to 40-33 with back-to-back 3-pointers, the Moccasins came right back with baskets by freshman Mariah Harris (Gainesville, FL) and senior Taylor Maldonado (Stroudsburg, PA) to trim the gap to three.
Behind four free throws by junior Morgan Lamberg (Mukwanago, WI) and a bucket by McIntyre, the Mocs twice got within two points, and when senior Tracy Fosterling (Albuquerque, NM)Â laid one in with 2:40 remaining, the Mocs were within one at 48-47. From there, however, the Bulldogs scored on four straight possessions, including three straight field goals. That got their lead back to seven (56-49) with 36 seconds to play.
Fosterling kept Florida Southern in the game though when she knocked down a 3-pointer moments after Bowie State had re-claimed its seven-point advantage. When the Bulldogs turned the ball over, the Mocs had a chance to score again right away, but this time missed two shots, and were forced to foul when McIntosh got the second rebound for Bowie State. McIntosh made one-of-two free throws to make it 57-52, and senior Alexis Hochstetler (Sarasota, FL) made a final basket for Florida Southern to provide the final margin.
Earlier in the day, Bowie State had scored on its first three possessions to take a 6-3 lead two minutes into the game, but scored just two points over the next 4:45. Maldonado tied the game at eight with a three-point play, and freshman Ali Sanders (Carpentersville, IL) gave Florida Southern its first lead at the 10:02 mark of the first half.
Bowie State eventually went ahead 23-20 before going cold again and missing 10 straight shots to end the half. During that time, Hochstetler helped Florida Southern grab the lead with four points and an assist on a basket by Lamberg. The 6-0 spurt to close out the first half gave the Mocs their 26-23 lead at the break.
McIntyre led Florida Southern with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Fosterling and Lamberg each had 10 points and eight boards. Fosterling made Florida Southern’s only 3-pointer and was 4-for-5 from the floor, and Lamberg was 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Bria Johnson of Bowie State led all scorers in the game with 13 points, with the Bulldogs also getting 11 points from Channell Mackey and Jasmine McIntosh. The Bulldogs shot 42 percent overall compared to the Moccasins’ 40 percent, but the Bulldogs also had eight fewer turnovers.
Florida Southern will play its second game in Washington on Sunday, taking on the host school for the tournament, UDC, at 3:00 p.m.
