Box Score
LAKELAND â€" Quincy University jumped out to an early lead Friday afternoon in the first game of the Terrace Hotel Classic, and though Florida Southern kept it close throughout the first half, the 25th-ranked Hawks used a 53-point second half to come away with an 80-43 victory over the Moccasins.
Facing one of the final 12 undefeated teams in Division II, and their third nationally ranked opponent this year, the Moccasins held their own for the first 20 minutes. The Hawks, who are now 8-0, also came into the game as one of two teams ranked in the top-20 in both field goal percentage offense and defense, but the Moccasins (4-5) limited them to 37 percent shooting in the first half.
That was still enough to give Quincy a 27-18 lead at the break before they out-scored the Moccasins 18-6 in the first 6½ minutes of the second half to pull away. The margin remained in the low 20’s until the Hawks went on another big run in the final six minutes of the game and held the Mocs to just two points during that stretch. The Hawks finished the game shooting 45 percent from the floor, a little below their .501 percentage entering play, which was second in the country.
With Hannah Weedman and Maggie Cunningham scoring four apiece, Quincy scored the first eight points of the game before freshman forward Enjelica Reid (Johnson City, Tenn.) slashed through the lane to give the Moccasins their first points at the 14:55 mark. A three-point play by Felisha Loggins later put Quincy ahead 12-2, before the Mocs scored seven straight to make it a one-possession game.
Reid was a big part of that run, assisting one basket by freshman Christin Strawbridge (Lakeland, Fla.) and making one herself that cut the gap to 12-9. In between, junior Cashala Thompson (Tucson, Ariz.) hit a 3-pointer to account for the other points during the 7-0 run, and later hit another one with 4:40 to play in the half that again pulled FSC within three at 17-14.
Six straight points by Quincy expanded the deficit once again, and both teams made two shots apiece in the final 70 seconds of the first half to make the score 27-18 at halftime.
A layup by sophomore Ali Sanders (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) gave Florida Southern the first points of the second half, but Quincy followed immediately with a basket by Kara Gerbus. Weedman then completed a three-point play and made another basket to give Quincy seven straight points, and after a bucket by Reid, Carly Bettencourt knocked down a 3-pointer that started an 11-2 run by the Hawks, which put them ahead 45-24 with 13:30 remaining.
Back-to-back field goals by senior Morgan Lamberg (Mukwonago, Wis.) and Reid trimmed it to 45-28, but it was another 3-pointer by Bettencourt that gave Quincy a 20-point lead or greater for the rest of the game.
Reid finished as the high scorer for Florida Southern with a season-high 10 points, going 5-for-9 from the field. She also had three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in the best game of her young career.
Sanders scored seven points for the Moccasins, while Thompson and freshman Danielle Thomas (Conyers, Ga.) each scored six. Thomas also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Quincy got a career-high 18 points from Bettencourt, who came off the bench and went 6-for-7 from the floor, 3-for-4 from 3-point range, and 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Weedman was the only other Hawk in double figures with 12 points and added eight rebounds. Loggins pulled down 11 boards for the Hawks, who held a 50-38 advantage on the glass, including 26-15 in the second half.
Both teams will play again on Saturday in the Terrace Hotel Classic, with Florida Southern squaring off against Fayetteville State at 1 p.m., followed by Quincy taking on Tampa at 3 p.m.
