Box Score
MELBOURNE - Florida Southern went toe-to-toe for 40 minutes here Saturday afternoon with one of the leaders in the Sunshine State Conference and fell just short 52-48 to Florida Tech at the Clemente Center on the Tech campus.
The Moccasins, who fell to 8-9 overall and 2-5 in the SSC, led 32-30 at the half and 42-39 with 9:55 left in the game following a basket by senior forward Alexis Hochstetler (Sarasota, Fla.), before the Panthers closed out the game on a 13-6 run to earn the win and improve to 13-4 overall and 5-2 in the league.
"I am very proud of the way our team played today," Mocs head coach Holly Borchers said. "We can take a lot away a lot of positives from this game."
After being held to a season-low 31 points in its 51-31 home loss Wednesday to 25th-ranked Tampa, the Mocs offense scored 32 points in the first half of Saturday's game. The 32 first half points were the most scored by FSC in the first half of an SSC game this year.
FSC showed little ill effect from Wednesday's outing with Tampa as they opened the game on a 14-4 run just seven minutes into the game thanks to a combined nine points from senior forward Kirstin McIntyre (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) and senior guard Tracy Fosterling (Albuquerque, N.M.). The Panthers, who entered the game tied for first in the SSC standings with Lynn and 20th-ranked Nova Southeastern, answered with a 7-0 run to drop the Mocs lead to 14-11 with 11:05 left in the opening period.
FSC would once again push its lead to as much as nine points two times, the last following a lay-up by McIntyre with 7:09 left to give the Mocs 22-13 lead, before Tech used a 15-4 run to take a 28-26 lead after three straight free throws by Kayk Wilson with 2:59 left. The lead was the first of the game for the Panthers.
After Wilson's two free throws, the Mocs retied the game seven seconds later on two free throws by Hochstetler. The two free throws would begin a 6-2 run by the Mocs to close the half and take its two-point lead at the half.
Fosterling led the way offensively for the Mocs as she tied her season high with 14 points and added six rebounds, while McIntyre added 12 poins and six boards for the game.
Following Hochstetler's basket that gave the Mocs its 42-39 lead, the Panthers took the lead 85 seconds later on a three-pointer by Peggy Smith. The Mocs tied the game with 8:04 left on basket by junior forward Morgan Lamberg (Mukwanago, Wis.), before Tech scored the next four points to take a 48-44 lead.
Fosterling hit two free throws with 3:20 left to pull FSC within 48-46, but Smith hit a basket with 1:53 left to push the Panthers lead to 50-46. Senior guard Melanie Ducott (North Lauderdale, Fla.) pushed the Mocs within 50-48 following a basket with 39 seconds left, but Jami Chappell sealed Tech's with a 16-foot jumper with 10 seconds left in the game.
Tech was paced by 11 points from Ida Gustafsson, including nine in the first half. In addition to Gustafsson, Wilson and Chappell each had nine points in the win.
For the game, the Mocs shot 39 percent from the field and 25 percent from the 3-point line, while Tech shot 37 percent from the field and 21 percent from the 3-point line. Both teams each shot 70 percent or better from the free throw line.
The Mocs finished the game with a 39-25 edge on the glass, but committed 22 turnovers that led to 18 Tech points. The Panthers had 13 turnovers on the day.
The Mocs will conclude the first-half of SSC play on Wednesday, Jan. 30 with a 5:30 p.m. contest at Rollins, who tied for the 2011-12 regular season SSC title with FSC and Barry.
