Mocs Fall Short at Home on Senior Night to Rollins

Printable SSC Tournament Bracket

LAKELAND - Florida Southern seniors Melanie Ducott and Kirstin McIntyre did all they could do here Saturday in its Senior Night finale against Rollins as the pair combined for 45 points in the Moccasins 70-66 setback against Rollins in Sunshine State Conference action at Jenkins Field House.

Following the conclusion of Saturday's final regular season game, the Mocs honored its four seniors in a postgame ceremony. In addition to Ducott and McIntyre, the Mocs other two seniors on this year's team are guard Tracy Fosterling (Albuquerque, N.M.) and forward Alexis Hochstetler (Sarasota, Fla.).

The Mocs, who led by as much as eight points midway through the second half, couldn't withstand a 10-2 run by the Tars over the game's final three-plus minutes to conclude the regular season with a 10-16 overall record and finish with a 4-12 mark in the SSC. Rollins improved to 18-8 overall and 9-7 in the league.

Ducott, who scored a career-high 25 points in the Mocs four-point loss on Wednesday at Tampa, scored 21 points on Saturday, including 10 in the second half, while McIntyre tallied 24 points and pulled down a career-high tying 14 rebounds for her team-leading fifth double-double of the season.

In the first half, McIntyre had the hot hand as she tallied 15 of her 24 points in the opening 20 minutes and also had eight boards as the two teams were tied at 29 at halftime.

The Mocs opened the second half on a 10-4 run to turn the 29-all game into a 39-33 lead. The run was capped by a lay-up and free throw by Ducott. Following the run, the Tars, who shared the SSC regular title with FSC and Barry last season, used an 8-2 run to tie the game at 41 following a trey by Tonya Warren.

FSC would answer Rollins' run with a 5-0 spurt to retake the lead at 46-41 following two free throws by McIntyre with 10:14 left in the game. After the Tars stopped the run with a basket by Marie Gilbert, McIntyre scored five straight points to push the Mocs lead to 51-43 with 9:15 left in the game.

After two free throws by Hochstetler gave the Mocs a 55-47 edge, the Tars began its comeback as they used an 11-4 run to pull within 59-58 following two free throws by Sarah Blackburn with 4:13 remaining. The Mocs, though, came right back and extended its lead to three on a lay-up by freshman guard Caitlin Lindsey (Port Charlotte, Fla.) with 3:56 left.

The Tars got a basket by Sarah Taylor to drop the Mocs lead to 61-60, before a free throw by Hochstetler and a lay-up by freshman forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.) gave the Mocs a 64-60 edge with 3:35 remaining. Harris finished the game with eight points and nine rebounds.

Trailing 64-60, the Tars scored five quick points, including taking its first lead since late in the first half on a 3-pointer by Taylor with 2:35 left in the game. Harris' gave the Mocs a 66-65 lead 16 seconds later on a lay-up, but Ashley Jones tied the game at 66 on a free throw with 1:20 remaining. The Tars would seal the win by scoring the game's final four points. 

Rollins, who clinched the No. 4 seed in the SSC Tournament, was paced by 14 points and seven boards by Blackburn, while Jones added 13 points off the bench and Ashley Losch had 11 in the win.

For the game, FSC shot 46 percent from the field and 36 percent from long distance, while Rollins shot 40 percent from the field and 25 percent from the 3-point line. The Mocs held a 42-34 edge on the glass, but committed 19 turnovers that led to 20 Rollins points. The Tars finished with just eight turnovers.

The Mocs will return to action on Wednesday, March 6 as they face No. 8 Barry (14-12 overall, 5-11) in the opening round game of the 2013 SSC Tournament. The game will tipoff at 5 p.m. at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. The Mocs split the two regular season games with the Buccaneers as they picked a 47-44 win in Lakeland on Jan. 5 and fell 64-61 in Miami Shores on Feb. 6.

The complete 2013 Women's SSC Tournament scheduled is listed below.

2013 SSC Women's Basketball Championship Schedule
Opening Round - Wednesday, March 6
Game 1 - 5:00 p.m. - No. 8 Barry (14-12 overall, 5-11 SSC) vs. No. 9 Florida Southern (10-16 overall, 4-12 SSC)
Women's Quarterfinals - Thursday, March 7
Game 3 - 12:00 p.m. - No. 4 Rollins (18-8 overall, 9-7 SSC) vs. No. 5 Florida Tech (16-10 overall, 8-8 SSC)
Game 4 - 2:30 p.m. - Opening-Round Winner vs. No. 1 Nova Southeastern (19-7 overall, 11-5 SSC)
Game 5 - 5:00 p.m. - No. 2 Lynn (18-8 overall, 11-5 SSC) vs. No. 7 Saint Leo (12-14 overall, 7-9 SSC)
Game 6 - 7:30 p.m. - No. 3 Eckerd (14-11, 9-7 SSC) vs. No. 6 Tampa (18-8 overall, 8-8 SSC)
Women's Semifinals - Saturday, March 9
Game 11 - 12:00 p.m. - Game 3 Winner v. Game 4 Winner
Game 12 - 2:30 p.m. - Game 5 Winner v. Game 6 Winner
Women's Final - Sunday, March 10
Women's Championship - 1:00 p.m. - Game 11 Winner v. Game 12 Winner