Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG â€" For the second day in a row, Florida Southern spent most of the first half playing catch-up; and for the second day in a row, the Moccasins had the lead by halftime and went on to win the game. Behind 17 points from junior Taylor Maldonado, and 10 points and 12 rebounds from senior Kirstin McIntyre, Florida Southern downed Puerto Rico-Bayamon 60-53 in its second game at the Eckerd College Thanksgiving Classic.
The win improved Florida Southern’s record to 2-3 on the season after the Moccasins had beaten North Georgia on Friday. The Moccasins didn’t take their first lead of the game in that one until the closing seconds of the first half, but never trailed in the second half en route to a 57-49 win.
Though Florida Southern did score first in this one, UPR-Bayamon (0-5) put the next seven points on the board and held the Mocs to just one field goal in the first seven minutes while building a 9-4 lead. Consecutive baskets by Maldonado and freshman Mariah Harris made it a one-point game, but Bayamon scored on three straight possessions after that, which included a 3-pointer by Lydianne Pagan with 10:30 remaining in the half that gave the Cowgirls a 16-10 lead.
That 3-pointer was the high-water mark of the game for Bayamon though. Over the final 10 minutes of the first half, the Cowgirls were just 1-for-14 from the floor, and missed 12 consecutive field goal attempts before Kathia Torres broke the dry spell with a layup 35 seconds before halftime. During those 10 minutes, the Mocs out-scored the Cowgirls 14-5, and re-took the lead on two McIntyre free throws 1:44 before halftime. They also got baskets from freshman Ali Sanders and senior Tracy Fosterling in the final minute, sandwiched around Torres’ layup, to push their lead to 24-21 at the break.
With Maldonado and Fosterling scoring early in the second half, the Mocs were able to push their lead up to six points before a three-point play by Roxairaly Armesto made the score 29-26. Sanders then broke a scoreless drought of nearly three minutes by the Moccasins with a jumper at the 14:55 mark, and Maldonado scored Florida Southern’s next four points before assisting a bucket by Harris that gave them a 39-29 lead with 12:20 remaining.
After another 3-minute stretch where neither team scored, Maldonado knocked down a 3-pointer and made one-of-two free throws on the next possession to cap a 14-3 run that put FSC on top, 43-29. Senior Alexis Hochstetler would then make another 3-pointer with 6:54 to play that gave the Mocs their largest lead of the game at 48-33.
The Moccasins were still ahead by 13 points with four minutes remaining when UPR-Bayamon mounted a comeback. Scoring seven consecutive points, the Cowgirls got within six on a layup by Armesto with 1:40 to play. They got even closer when Armesto made two free throws with 37 seconds on the clock, and had a chance to make it a one-possession game after the Moccasins missed two free throws right after that.
However, Armesto was unable to score on another layup attempt, and the Moccasins put the game away when Maldonado and junior Morgan Lamberg combined to go 3-for-4 from the line in the final 23 seconds.
Maldonado scored her 17 points coming off the bench, though she still played 32 minutes, more than any of the starting five except for Fosterling, who played 34 minutes and scored 11 points with eight rebounds. McIntyre’s 10-point, 12-rebound effort was the Mocs’ first double-double of the season, and Sanders reached double figures in points for the first time in her career with 10 points.
Florida Southern out-rebounded UPR-Bayamon, 51-30, and held the Cowgirls to 32 percent shooting in the game. The only player from Bayamon to reach double figures in points was Armesto with 18.
Florida Southern will play its first Sunshine State Conference game of the season in its next game, traveling to Boca Raton to face Lynn University on Saturday, December 1 at 2:00 p.m.
