Box Score
LAKELAND - Florida Southern opened the home portion of its 2013-14 schedule here Sunday afternoon by posting a hard-fought 68-63 win over Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras in non-conference action at Jenkins Field House.
The Moccasins, who improved to 2-2 on the season with the win, used a career-high offensive afternoon from sophomore guard Ali Sanders (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) and a double-double from freshman forward Christin Strawbridge (Lakeland, Fla.) to hold off a pesky Jerezanas' squad that hit 14 three-pointers in the game. Sanders finished the game with 24 points, including scoring 15 of them in the second half and Strawbridge tallied a career-high 14 points and 12 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double.
On the day, UPR-Rio Piedras (0-2) shot 42 three-pointers for game and connected on just 33 percent of them. They scored 42 of their 63 points from downtown. For the game, UPRRP took just 60 shot and made 22 of them and finished shooting 37 percent from the field.
It was the play of Sanders down the stretch that helped lead the Mocs to victory as she hit a three-pointer with 3:29 left in the game to give FSC a three-point lead they wouldn't relinquish. Sanders' trey, which was her third of the game, spearheaded a 9-0 run by the Mocs that turned a 57-all tie into a 66-57 lead with 2:12 remaining. Sanders and senior forward Morgan Lamberg (Mukwonago, Wis.) scored all nine of FSC's points during the run, including Lamberg capping the spree with a jumper with 2:12 left in the contest.
Following Lamberg's basket, UPRRP's Roxyaliz Munoz hit a trey to drop FSC's lead to 66-60 with 1:49 left, but Sanders hit two free throws 22 seconds later to push the lead to 68-60. The Jerezanas, who fell 76-51 Saturday afternoon at No. 22 ranked Rollins, capped the scoring with a trey from Keiry Huertas with 1:21 remaining. Huertas finished the game with 17 points as she was 5-for-9 from downtown on the day.
In the first half, UPRRP jumped out to a 12-6 lead just a little over three minutes into the contest thanks to three consecutive treys from Huertas, Lirielys Ramos and Roxyaliz Munoz, before FSC answered with an 8-0 run to take a 14-12 lead following a lay-up by Sanders with 13:01 left in the opening half.
After Huertas drilled another trey to give UPRRP a 15-14 lead, Strawbridge connected on two free throws to help FSC retake the lead at 16-15 with 12:32 left in the half. From that point, neither team would seize control of the game until the Jerezanas used an 8-3 run to turn a 21-20 deficit into a 28-23 advantage following another trey from Huertas at the 5:44 mark.
The Mocs, though, would respond by closing out the first half on a 12-5 run to go into the locker room at the half leading 35-33. Strawbridge scored six of FSC's final 12 points and sophomore forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.) capped the run with a lay-up and a free throw. Harris finished the game with nine points and 10 rebounds.
For the game, FSC held a 53-28 edge on the glass, including collecting 16 offensive rebounds that led to a 16-2 edge in second chance points.
Lamberg was the third Moc to record double-figure rebounds as she had 10 and added a career-high tying six assists in the win.
The Mocs would extend its two-point halftime lead to as much as nine points in the first 2:21 of the second half that was capped by a 3-pointer by junior guard Cashala Thompson (Tucson, Ariz.). Thompson's trey gave the Mocs a 44-35 lead.
UPRRP, though, wouldn't go away as they hit three consecutive treys, including two from Munoz, in a span of a little over two minutes to retie the game at 44. Munoz also finished with 17 points for UPRRP as she was 6-for-20 from the field, including going 5-for-16 from the 3-point line.
The Mocs answered with a 13-6 run over the next six minutes to retake the lead at 57-50 following two free throws by Strawbridge with 8:40 left in the game. UPRRP would have one run left in them as they used a 7-0 run capped by back-to-back baskets from Sheila Reyes to tie the game at 57 with 3:47 remaining.
Along with Munoz and Huertas, Irmarie Colon added nine points and Reyes finished with eight points and a team-high five rebounds in the loss.
The Mocs finished the game shooting 41 percent from the field and 39 percent (5-for-13) from the 3-point line. FSC, though, committed 17 turnovers that led to 14 points for UPRRP, while the Jerezanas had just nine turnovers for the game.
FSC also finished the game by shooting 14 more free throws than their opposition as the Mocs were 19-for-26 (73 percent) at the line, including going 8-for-10 (80 percent) in the second half. UPRRP finished shooting 42 percent (5-for-12) from the line.
The Mocs return to action this coming weekend as they travel to St. Petersburg to compete in the Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic. FSC will open the two-day event on Friday, Nov. 29 with a 1 p.m. game against Ohio Dominican, before facing Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 1 p.m.
