Box Score
LAKELAND â€" As the saying goes, there can only be one champion, and though two other teams may yet claim a share, the Florida Southern Moccasins are the first team to grab the trophy. Behind 25 points from Michaela Hawley, and 17 from Danielle Walsh, the Mocs ended the regular season with a 78-46 win over Tampa, clinching the top seed in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament, and technically speaking, a share of the SSC regular season title as well.
The Moccasins’ victory on Wednesday night gave them an overall record of 21-5, and a conference mark of 12-4. One way or the other, it gives Florida Southern a championship trophy for the second year in a row. Last year the Mocs won the regular season title outright with a 14-2 league record, but this year as many as three teams could finish tied at the top. Barry created that possibility, and in the process helped Florida Southern, by defeating Rollins at the same time the Moccasins were finishing off their own win over Tampa. That result leaves the Buccaneers and Tars currently tied for second with a conference record of 11-4.
If Florida Southern, Rollins and Barry all finish with identical 12-4 records, the SSC would officially recognize all three of them as tri-champions, something that’s happened only once in women’s basketball since the league added the sport in 1981-82. That came in 1996, when Florida Southern, Rollins and Florida Tech were in that position.
As far as the Mocs are concerned though, the title is theirs. By virtue of their sweep of Barry and a split with Rollins, the Mocs win the tie-breaker and will be the #1 seed in the SSC Tournament that begins on February 29. That also earns them a second straight game with Tampa (10-15, 3-12), which secured the #8 seed when Saint Leo lost to Eckerd in double overtime Wednesday night. The Mocs will play that game at home, with a time still to be determined.
In Wednesday night’s game, Florida Southern took an 11-point lead with 12:39 remaining in the first half and was up by double digits the rest of the way. A 3-pointer by Megan Dzikas with 8:09 to play before halftime gave the Mocs a 31-9 lead, and it never fell below 20 after that.
All four of Florida Southern’s seniors starred in this one, combining for 57 points, 22 rebounds, 11 assists and nine steals. Hawley’s 25 points came on 10-of-19 shooting, and she also went 5-for-6 from the free throw line and had a game-high nine rebounds. Walsh scored her 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, made both of her 3-point attempts, and picked up seven boards and four assists.
Dzikas went 5-for-10 from the floor and also made a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 12 points, four rebounds, five assists and six steals, and Sofie Lundberg came off the bench for three points and two rebounds.
A 3-pointer by Lundberg was the highlight of an 11-0 run in the first half that blew the game open. The Mocs led 15-6 before that, but held the Spartans scoreless for more than five minutes while Lundberg, Hawley, Dzikas and Tracy Fosterling all took turns scoring for the Moccasins.
That was also part of a nine-minute stretch that saw Tampa make just one field goal as Florida Southern’s lead quickly jumped to 34-10 with five minutes to play in the first half.
Shooting better than 60 percent for most of the first half, the Mocs eventually went to the locker room ahead 44-20 after an amazing 3-point shot by Tampa’s Illyssa Vivo. Bringing the ball up for the final shot of the first half, the Spartans lost it near midcourt, before Kamari Smith recovered it for UT after a wild scramble that saw nearly every player on the court have a hand on it at some point as the seconds ticked away. Smith had just enough time to get the ball to Vivo, who tossed up a long 3-pointer at the buzzer that was almost destined to go in.
It may have been the final highlight of the night for Tampa, which never got closer than 20 in the second half, and trailed by at least 30 for almost all of the final 12½ minutes. Ten of Florida Southern’s 12 players ended up in the points column while making at least one field goal. They helped the Mocs to their largest margin of victory in the series since a 106-60 win in 1993. It came on the heels of three straight wins over Tampa by five points or less.
The Moccasins finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor and 41 percent from 3-point range (7-for-17). Defensively, the Mocs played their sixth game this year allowing less than 50 points.
Tampa shot 37 percent from the floor and 27 percent from long distance. The Spartans were led by Smith, who scored 15 points and had six rebounds and four steals, and Vivo, who had 14 points and five rebounds.
