Box Score
TAMPA - Florida Southern's Melanie Ducott almost single-handedly willed her team to victory here in the second half of Wednesday's Sunshine State Conference battle against Tampa as the senior guard scored 15 of the Moccasins final 17 points in its 49-45 setback to the Spartans at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.
Ducott, who is a native of North Lauderdale, Fla., finished with a career-high 25 points, including scoring 18 of those points in the second half to help the Mocs nearly post its second straight victory.
With the loss, FSC falls to 10-15 overall and 4-11 in the SSC and will now begin play in the 2013 SSC Tournament next Wednesday, March 6 at 5 p.m. as they will face Barry in the women's opening round game at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.
Despite Ducott's offensive onslaught in the second half, the Spartans hung for the win thanks to Illyssa Vivo, who scored UT's final five points after the Mocs pulled within a point following Ducott's fifth and final 3-pointer of the game with 2:17 left in the game. Ducott's trey dropped UT's lead to 44-43.
After Vivo, who scored all seven of her points after halftime, missed a lay-up with 1:48 left in the game, the Mocs had a shot to take the lead, but freshman forward Mariah Harris' (Gainesville, Fla.) jumper from about 12 feet was short.
From that point, Vivo would hit a lay-up and complete the three-point play with a free throw with 55 seconds remaining to push UT's lead to 47-43. On the Mocs ensuing possesion, senior forward Kirstin McIntyre (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) hit a lay-up with 35 seconds left to push the Mocs within 47-45. The Spartans, though, would close out the game's scoring on another Vivo lay-up with 16 seconds remaining.
McIntyre was the other Moc in double figures as she scored 15 points and had eight rebounds in the loss. In fact, Ducott and McIntyre combined to score 40 of the Mocs 45 points in the game.
The Mocs, who trailed 20-19 at the half, scored the first five points of the second half to take a 24-20 lead following a basket by Ducott with 15:43 left in the game.
UT, though, would answer FSC's second-half opening run by going on a 17-4 run to take a 37-28 lead with 7:08 left in the game. The run was keyed by six points from Shamika Williams and capped by a lay-up from Sadie Oyer.
Williams led the way offensively for the Spartans as she finished with 12 points off the bench. Oyer had nine points, while Vivo and Juliana Cavallaro each tallied seven in the win for UT, who improved to 17-8 overall and 7-8 in the SSC.
In the first half, UT sprinted out to a 16-6 lead just a little under 11 minutes into the game. The Mocs, though, would answer with an 11-2 run over the next six-plus minutes to pull within 18-17 following a trey by Ducott. McIntyre and Ducott combined to score nine of FSC's 11 points during the run.
The Spartans, who were playing its final home game of the season, pushed its lead to 20-17 after a basket from Williams, before junior forward Morgan Lamberg (Mukwonago, Wis.) hit a shot with nine seconds left to drop UT's lead to 20-19 at the half.
For the game, the Mocs shot 35 percent from the field and 26 percent from the 3-point line and forced UT into 18 turnovers, while the Spartans shot 38 percent from the field, but failed to connect on any its six 3-point shot attempts. UT came into the game third in the SSC in 3-point field goal percentage at 33 percent, while FSC entered the game leading the league and is 17th in Division II in 3-point field goal defense.
Tampa finished the game with a 37-26 edge on the glass and was 19-for-21 at the foul line. The Mocs finished the game shooting 60 percent (6-for-10) at the line.
The Mocs will close out the regular season on Saturday, March 2 as they host Rollins for Senior Night. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at Jenkins Field House and following the game, the Mocs will honor its four seniors in a postgame ceremony. This year's seniors are Ducott, McIntyre, forward Alexis Hochstetler (Sarasota, Fla.) and forward Tracy Fosterling (Albuquerque, N.M.).
