Box Score
LAKELAND â€" Down by eight with less than 10 minutes to play, the Moccasins knew they’d have to make a few defensive stops to have any chance to win their second conference game of the season. They made more than a few, and along the way showed that even when their shots weren’t falling, they were never really out of the game. After allowing just four points in the final 10 minutes, Florida Southern pulled out a 47-44 win over Barry that left the Moccasins as the only 2-0 team in the SSC.
Not only did the Moccasins (7-4, 2-0) hold the Buccaneers to just four points in the final 10 minutes, they shut them out over the final four. Down the stretch, junior Morgan Lamberg (Mukwonago, WI) , senior Tracy Fosterling (Albuquerque, NM) and senior Melanie Ducott (North Lauderdale, FL) all came through with clutch plays that kept giving the Mocs hope for a comeback win, and eventually gave it to them as the buzzer sounded.
Lamberg finished with a game-high 13 points, with eight of them coming in the final 10 minutes. Fosterling had 10 points and 10 rebounds, her first double-double of the season, and Ducott had seven points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. The Moccasins also got 10 points from senior Kirstin McIntyre (Hopewell Junction, NY).
Florida Southern spent most of the game playing catch-up and shooting under 30 percent from the floor. Barry (7-3, 0-2) led 24-19 at halftime and the Buccaneers got their lead up to 10 after out-scoring the Mocs 7-2 to start the second half. For a long time, the Mocs couldn’t make much headway either, and still trailed 40-32 when the game turned in their favor.
While Barry missed four straight shots and committed three turnovers, Florida Southern scored six straight points to cut the gap to two. Lamberg scored the first four points, and single free throws by senior Alexis Hochstetler (Sarasota, FL) and McIntyre provided the final two. Those free throw opportunities came after steals by Ducott and Hochstetler prevented Barry from even taking a shot.
The Bucs broke their scoreless drought when Colette Eule and Kaley Howard scored baskets on back-to-back possessions to give them a 44-39 lead, but it was literally all Florida Southern after that.
A jumper by Lamberg made it a 3-point game before Ducott made not one, but two huge defensive plays on Barry’s next possession. The senior guard first blocked a shot by Howard, and after the Bucs were awarded the ball out of bounds, her steal had the Mocs running the other way. It ended with Fosterling getting fouled and sinking two free throws to bring Florida Southern within one, the closest the score had been since midway through the first half.
On their next trip down the court, a go-ahead 3-pointer by Hochstetler bounced off the rim, but Fosterling battled for the offensive rebound before her shot was also off the mark. It didn’t matter. Lamberg swept in to grab another offense rebound and laid the ball in with 1:41 remaining to give the Mocs only their second lead of the night at 45-44.
Barry misfired on three shots after that and Ducott, who was filling in for an injured Taylor Maldonado, drove a dagger into the Buccaneers with a running layup through the lane with 20.6 seconds to play. After calling a time-out, Barry’s Jackie Perez tried a game-tying 3-pointer from the corner, but with Ducott applying the pressure, the shot was off-target. The Bucs managed to win the rebound but another 3-point try by Dominique Dixon was no good with two seconds to play and Fosterling secured that rebound for Florida Southern.
Though Florida Southern shot just 34 percent in the game, the Mocs shot 42 percent in the second half. They also cut their turnovers down from 10 in the first half to five in the second.
Barry was almost exactly the opposite. After shooting 42 percent in the first half, the Bucs shot 21 percent in the second (six-for-28). They also went 0-for-9 from 3-point range in the second half, and were 1-for-12 in the game.
Florida Southern went 0-for-8 from long range after coming into game ranked #1 in the SSC in 3-point shooting percentage.
Barry was led by Eule, who scored 13 points, while Tyler Hardy scored 10 points and had six rebounds.
Florida Southern will be on the road Wednesday night when it travels to Saint Leo for a 5:30 p.m. game.
