Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG â€" The final two minutes of the game belonged to Ali Sanders, and her performance down the stretch is what allowed the game to belong to Florida Southern. The sophomore guard scored the Moccasins’ final nine points to help the Moccasins rally from a 13-point second-half deficit, as Florida Southern defeated Puerto Rico-Bayamon, 65-61 at the Eckerd College Thanksgiving Classic.
Florida Southern (4-2), which has now four straight, led 11-3 eight minutes into the game, but the Vaqueros (0-6) out-scored them 36-11 over the remainder of the first half behind a steady onslaught of 3-pointers. The Vaqueros went 8-for-19 from that distance in the first half, and seven of them came after they fell into the 11-3 hole. Jamillete Quinones and Kathia Torres each made four, with Quinones hit two in the final minute of the half to put them up 32-22 at the break.
With Torres making two more long-range shots early in the second half, the lead for Bayamon increased to 42-29 before Florida Southern began its comeback. Down by 13, the Moccasins scored 13 straight points, which included a 3-pointer by junior Cashala Thompson (Tucson, Ariz.) that started the run, a 3-pointer by sophomore Sydni Payne (Conyers, Ga.) that got them within two, and two baskets by sophomore Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.). The second of those Harris buckets tied the game at 42 with 10:52 remaining.
The Mocs would later take their first lead since midway through the first half when a 3-pointer by Payne put them ahead 51-49, but the Vaqueros then went on a 10-3 which featured two more 3-point field goals. That put the Mocs in a 5-point hole going into the final three minutes of the game when they scored nine straight points to re-claim the lead.
Harris got them going with a pair of free throws before Sanders (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) tied the score at 59 on a 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining. After the Vaqueros missed a 3-pointer at the other end, Sanders drilled another one, giving the Mocs a 62-59 lead. Sanders then made three free throws in the final 23 seconds, two of them after the Vaqueros got a basket from Madelyn Velazquez with 13 seconds to play that trimmed the Mocs’ lead to two.
Those final two free throws gave Sanders a team-high 15 points in the game. She went 4-for-8 from the floor (3-for-5 on 3-point attempts) and 4-for-6 from the line. Harris had 13 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, including 11 and nine in the second half when the Moccasins scored 43 points as a team and shot 58 percent from the floor.
Payne also reached double digits for the first time this season with 11 points, made both of her 3-point attempts, and pulled down five rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench. She helped the Mocs shoot 47 percent from 3-point range and go 5-for-7 in the second half.
Freshman Christin Strawbridge (Lakeland, Fla.) turned in another sold outing as well, totaling nine points and eight rebounds.
UPR-Bayamon was led by a 22-point effort from Torres, who was 8-for-14 overall, and 6-for-11 on 3-point attempts. Quinones scored 17 points for the Vaqueros, but only two in the second half. She was 6-for-15 from the floor, and 4-for-8 on 3-pointers. The Vaqueros made a total of 13 3-point field goals in the game, accounting for 39 of their 61 points.
Florida Southern will play its first Sunshine State Conference game of the season next Saturday (December 7) when it travels to Davie to take on Nova Southeastern at 2 p.m.
