Box Score
LAKELAND - Fayetteville State University jumped out to an early first half lead they never relinquished in the first game of the second day of the Terrace Hotel Classic, defeating Florida Southern 65-40 in the final game of the 2013 calendar year for FSC. The loss drops Florida Southern's record to 4-6, and brings their losing streak to four games on the season.
FSC fell behind early after the Lady Broncos (7-2) opened the game with an 8-0 run before freshman guard Morgan Siebka (Slippery Rock, Pa.) scored the first Moccasin basket of the afternoon. Florida Southern would draw to as close as one after points from sophomore forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.) and a three-pointer from sophomore guard Ali Sanders (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) before senior guard Amber Calvin put Fayetteville State up by four with her first three of the game.
Freshman forward Enjelica Reid (Johnson City, Tenn.) brought the Mocs back to within two before the Lady Broncos scored 11 unanswered points to jump out to a 22-9 lead with 5:06 still to go in the first half. Of those 13 points scored, six were scored by junior center Deja Middleton. The Moccasins battled back, drawing to as close as 11 with a layup from senior forward Morgan Lamberg (Mukwonago, Wis.) before Fayetteville State brought their lead back to 15 with another three-pointer from Amber Calvin and a successful free throw by sophomore center Bria Robinson to close the first half with the Lady Broncos leading 32-17.
The Mocs were outscored in points in the paint (12-4), points off turnovers (11-4) and second chance points (3-2); the only statistic they outperformed Fayetteville State in were bench points (4-2). Florida Southern was also held to 25 percent from the floor (7-28) while allowing the Lady Broncos to achieve a 41.4 field goal percentage (12-29).
Harris led the Mocs in first-half scoring with six points off of three field goals, while Lamberg hit one field goal and two free throws to give her four points. Lamberg lead the team with five of their 20 total rebounds in the first half, with Harris and freshman forward Danielle Thomas (Conyers, Ga.) tying for second with four each.
Meanwhile, Calvin led the Lady Broncos with 17 first half points, including all three of Fayetteville State's three-point shots. Middleton was next in scoring with eight, while pulling down a first-half high of seven rebounds.
The Lady Broncos picked up right where they left off from the first half, utilizing a 15-4 run throughout the first five minutes of the half. Florida Southern used a 15-4 run of their own, including a string of nine consecutive points, to cut the deficit to 12 with 7:47 remaining in the contest. During the run, Sanders scored five of her eight total points off of two free throws and a three-point attempt. Junior guard Cashala Thompson (Tucson, Ariz.) also scored from downtown at the 7:47 mark for her first basket of the afternoon.
The 12-point deficit would be as close as Florida Southern would come for the rest of the half, as Fayetteville State closed the game with a 12-2 run to put the game well out of reach. The run started with a Middleton layup and another Calvin three before Thomas closed the gap to 15 with a pair of free throws. A layup from freshman guard De'Aira Smith brought the lead back to 20 for Fayetteville State before five more points from Calvin and freshman guard Emerald Smith put the score at 65-40, where it stayed for the remaining 2:22 of the half.
Harris, Lamberg and Sanders all tied for the lead in scoring with eight points, while Harris pulled down a team-high eight rebounds in the loss. Sanders led the Mocs with two three-pointers, while freshman forward Christin Strawbridge (Lakeland, Fla.) added five rebounds and one blocked shot to her season stat-line.
The Mocs went 15-59 for the game, along with 3-13 from beyond the arc and 7-9 from the free-throw line. The Mocs also stole the ball seven times from the Lady Broncos, with Lamberg and senior guard Sydni Payne (Conyers, Ga.) leading the way with two each.
For Fayetteville State, Amber Calvin went 9-19 from the floor, combined with going 5-14 from behind the three-point line and 2-2 from the charity line, to score 25 points for the game. Deja Middleton also scored in double figures, hitting 16 points while pulling down 13 total rebounds for a double-double. Middleton also recorded all three of Fayetteville State's blocks on the afternoon.
The Mocs resume their season after the holiday break when they host conference rival Barry on Saturday, Jan. 4. Florida Southern split last year's series with the Buccaneers, winning at home in January and losing on the road in February.
