Box Score
DAVIE - Florida Southern saw its four-game winning streak halted here Saturday afternoon as the Moccasins fell 110-65 to fourth-ranked Nova Southeastern in the Sunshine State Conference for both teams at the NSU Arena.
With the setback, FSC falls to 4-3 overall on the season and 0-1 in the SSC, while NSU improves to 7-0 on the season and 1-0 in the league.
In Saturday's SSC opener, the Mocs couldn't overcome 65 percent shooting from the field and 66 percent shooting from the 3-point line by Sharks, including NSU shooting 76 percent from the field and 71 percent from the 3-point line in sprinting out to a 63-25 lead at the half, in dropping just its second SSC opener in the past five seasons.
NSU hit 22-of-29 shots in the first half, including going 12-for-17 from long distance in the first half in taking a 65-25 halftime lead.
The Mocs opened the second half scoring with a three-pointer by sophomore guard Ali Sanders (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) to pull within 62-28, before the Sharks used a 20-4 run to push its lead to 83-32 with 13:10 left in the game. The 51 point lead was the largest of the game for the Sharks, who entered the game averaging an SSC-best 91.2 points per game.
Following NSU's run, the Mocs answered with a 10-2 run to drop NSU's lead to 85-45 following a lay-up by freshman forward Laura Hackett (Venice, Fla.). In fact, Hackett scored the Mocs final seven points during the run, while the other three points came on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Sydni Payne (Conyers, Ga.). Payne scored all nine of her points in the second half. In addition to the nine points, she also collected a career-high six rebounds.
After NSU pushed its lead back out to 44 points at 90-46, freshman forward Christin Strawbridge (Lakeland, Fla.) scored four consecutive points to bring FSC within 90-50 with 7:12 left in the game. Strawbridge led the way offensively for the Mocs as she scored a career-high 15 points, including 11 of them coming in the second half.
The Sharks would top the century mark on a three-pointer by Molly Blomer with 5:17 left in the game. Blomer's trey made the score 102-54.
FSC would make another scoring run as they scored seven of the next 10 points to pull within 105-61 following a lay-up and free throw by Payne. The Sharks would score five straight points to push its lead back out to 110-61.
Strawbridge would score the game's final four points on lay-ups in the final minute of the game.
In addition to Strawbridge's 15 points, sophomore forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.) added 12 points, all of which came in the first half, while senior forward Morgan Lamberg (Mukwonago, Wis.) added seven points.
NSU had six players reach double figures as Richelle Carach led the way with 16 points, while Taylor Buie, Danielle Robinson each scored 15 points. Buie and Robinson combined to go 7-for-12 from the 3-point line for the Sharks. Ashley Robinson also scored 15 points off the bench, all of which came in the second half. Jasmine Wilkins chipped in with 13 points and Julia Salmio added 12 points in the win.
The Mocs finished the game shooting 43 percent from the field, but shot just 18 percent (3-for-17) from the 3-point line. FSC entered the game as the top 3-point shooting team in the league at 43.2 percent.
NSU finished the game with a 30-24 edge on the glass and forced FSC into 18 turnovers that led to 25 points, while the Mocs forced 11 turnovers in the game.
The Mocs will take a week off before returning to action next Saturday, Dec. 14 as they host Palm Beach Atlantic in a 2 p.m. non-conference game at Jenkins Field House.
