Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG â€" With Florida Southern trailing by eight late in the first half, freshman Mariah Harris helped pick the Moccasins up and carry them into the locker room with a one-point lead. In the second half, junior Morgan Lamberg helped put the game away, along with key 3-pointers from Tracy Fosterling and Ali Sanders, as Florida Southern downed North Georgia 57-49 in the first game of the Eckerd College Thanksgiving Classic.
North Georgia (1-2) built a 15-6 lead in the opening eight minutes and led 23-15 with four minutes left in the first half. That’s when Florida Southern (1-3) began its comeback, outscoring the Saints 9-0 to close the period and scoring the first six points of the second half as well.
Alexis Hochstetler started the 15-0 run with a bucket with 3:12 remaining in the first half. Harris then scored three straight baskets for the Moccasins to tie the game at 23, and a free throw by Lamberg with four seconds on the clock gave the Mocs their first lead of the game at 24-23.
The Saints had the ball to start the second half, and Lamberg made her presence felt on defense when she blocked a shot by Crystal Moore. The Mocs didn’t score on the ensuing possession, but they did on their next one after Fosterling made a steal and assisted Lamberg for a 26-23 Moccasin lead. Not long after that, it was a steal by Melanie Ducott that led to a Fosterling basket, and Kirstin McIntyre hit a jumper at the 16:59 mark to make the score 30-23.
Over the next eight minutes, the Saints were able to twice cut the Moccasin lead down to three, and on one occasion got it to one. But the Mocs never gave it up, getting a 3-pointer from Fosterling to go back ahead by six with 11:46 to play, and a 3-pointer from Sanders with 8:26 remaining to again make it a 6-point game. Later, when the Mocs were leading 47-45, McIntyre dropped in a layup with 3:33 on the clock, and the margin never dropped below four after that.
Lamberg and Taylor Maldonado would then put the game away with two free throws apiece in the final 50 seconds to secure Florida Southern’s first win of the season, and the first official career win for new head coach Holly Borchers. Ironically, Borchers coached the Moccasins in a game against North Georgia during the 2009-10 season when former coach Jarrod Olson was out due to illness. The Moccasins won that game 103-82.
Lamberg led Florida Southern with 17 points, going 7-for-10 from the floor. McIntyre had 10 points, while Harris and Maldonado each scored eight. Fosterling had seven points, and tied Lamberg for the team lead with seven rebounds.
The Moccasins also committed just four second-half turnovers while out-scoring the Saints 33-26.
North Georgia was led by Jaymee Carnes, who scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Stephanie Huffman was the only other player in double figures for North Georgia with 10 points and seven rebounds as well. The Saints shot just 31 percent from the floor, and Carnes (7-for-16) was their only player with more than two field goals.
Florida Southern will play its second game in the Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. against Puerto Rico-Bayamon.
