TAMPA - Florida Southern continues to search for their first win of the season, falling to Francis Marion 74-61 on Saturday afternoon at the UT Spartan Classic, held at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on the University of Tampa campus.

The Mocs jumped out to a four-point lead early in the game off of baskets from guards Cashala Thompson (Tucson, Ariz.) and Taylor Maldonado (Stroudsburg, Pa.), before falling behind after 11 straight points from the Patriots. The Mocs battled back to pull to within two points before Francis Marion went on a 7-3 run to widen their lead to six with 9:17 remaining in the first half.

The two teams went back and forth for most of the time remaining in the half before a layup and subsequent free-throw shot from freshman forward Laura Hackett (Venice, Fla.) keyed a 10-3 Moccasin run that gave the designated home team a slim 32-31 lead to end the half.

Thompson led Florida Southern with nine points on four field goals. Sophomore forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.) added six points and six rebounds, and Hackett put up five points and pulled down five boards.

Sophomore guard Ali Sanders (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) widened Florida Southern's lead with a free throw, before junior guard Briana Robinson completed a three-point play to give Francis Marion the lead. A layup and successful free throw shot by Harris would tie the game at 36 with 18:16 left in the half, but a layup from junior forward Alexia Bell broke the tie, and three Patriot layups later the Mocs were trailing 44-36.

The Mocs narrowed the deficit by as much as one after two Harris free throws, but Francis Marion continued to hit shot after shot, and the Patriots went up by as much as seven with under ten minutes left in the game. A Thompson three-pointer at 7:56 narrowed the gap to two, but Francis Marion's offense continued to drain their shots, going on a 13-4 run to put the game out of reach.

Thompson led the Moccasins with 18 points on 7-11 shots, including hitting two of FSC's three 3-point attempts, while Harris finished with 12 points and nine boards. Senior forward Morgan Lamberg (Mukwonago, Wis.) also pulled down nine rebounds, while adding eight points and three assists. Maldonado finished with six points and a team-high seven assists in the loss, just one shy of tying her career high set against Tampa in 2012.

Florida Southern was once again plagued by turnovers, committing 21 to Francis Marion's eight, allowing the Patriots were to score 29 points off those turnovers to Florida Southern's 10. FSC was also out-rebounded by the Patriots 39-37, and gave up 40 points in the paint while scoring only 26.

Robinson led Francis Marion with 20 points, and was one of four Patriots to score 10 or more points. Senior guard Dee Gray put up 15 points and led with nine rebounds.

The Moccasins held Francis Marion to 41.2 percent shooting and 20 percent from beyond the arc in the game, while hitting 46.2 percent of their shots and 27.3 percent of their 3-point attempts.

The Mocs return to action on Saturday, Nov. 16, when they hit the road to face Young Harris before hosting Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras on Sunday, Nov. 24, for their 2013-14 home opener.