Box Score LAKELAND – Sydni Payne made only one of her seven field goal attempts on Saturday night against Palm Beach Atlantic, but it was her most important shot of the young season.
Trailing by two with 13.1 seconds left in overtime, Payne nailed a 3-pointer to lift Florida Southern (4-2) over the Sailfish, 65-64.
"That was just Sydni making a big shot," said first-year head coach Betsy Harris. "What's so funny is I've been trying to get her not to shoot threes in practice because I want her to take it to the hole more with that quick first step and she ends up winning the game with a three."
It wasn't the only clutch three for the Mocs against the Sailfish (4-6).
Trailing 54-51 with 30 seconds left in the second half, Harris called a timeout to draw up a play for senior guard Cashala Thompson (Tucson, Ariz.), the team's best 3-point shooter, and it worked perfectly. Sophomore forward Gianna Vastola (Sarasota, Fla.) set a screen to give Thompson an open look for the game-tying shot.
"Right before the overtime, we drew up that play by (Vastola) to set that screen for (Thompson) for the three," Harris said. "It was a great screen by (Vastola) and a great shot by (Thompson)."
It appeared the Mocs would be able to defeat the Sailfish with ease in regulation with double-digit leads in both halves. However, PBA recovered with a strong second half to force a five-minute overtime period.
FSC scored the first eight points and 17 of the first 20 in the opening half. Sophomore forward Christin Strawbridge (Lakeland, Fla.) scored the first two points of the game 23 seconds in. She gave her team an 8-0 lead with a fast-break layup at 15:36.
After a 3-pointer from PBA's Denisa Domiterova, the Mocs went on a nine-point run sparked by a pair of layups from junior forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.). Thompson's first of four 3-pointers on the night made it 15-3, followed by a pair of free throws from Payne (Conyers, Ga.) to make it a 14-point game.
The Sailfish cut the deficit to eight before the break. Domiterova buried another 3-pointer with 2:36 left before halftime, and consecutive baskets from Nina Krstic and Kimmi McIntosh made it 27-21. Harris extended the lead back to eight with her fourth field goal of the first half.
It didn't take long for the Mocs to regain control and build a 17-point lead, their largest of the contest, in the second half. FSC went on a 15-6 run to start the second half. Strawbridge was responsible for six of those points, the last two making it 44-29 at 15:40. Thirty-six seconds later, Vastola made it 46-29.
The final 15 minutes of regulation looked similar to Florida Southern's second-half meltdown against Georgia Southwestern on Nov. 22. The Hurricanes battled back from a 12-point deficit to win, 79-75.
Palm Beach Atlantic would tie the game at 48-48 with 8:50 remaining in the second half on a 19-2 run. Two 3-pointers from Krstic and one each from Mallory Motycka and Domiterova allowed the Sailfish to gain all of the momentum while the Moccasin offense sputtered. Krstic and Domiterova led all scorers with 20 and 17 points, respectively.
"We panicked like we did in Georgia Southwestern," Harris said. "I called a timeout and told them to calm down, that you have been in this situation before and you just need to be able to handle the pressure."
With 21 seconds left in overtime, Krstic missed her first free throw but hit the second, putting PBA up 64-62.
Vastola set the same screen as she did for Thompson to end the second half, but this time it was Payne who came up with the clutch 3-pointer for the win.
"I'm proud of them because they were able to pull it out," Harris said. "We could have easily lost that game. They stuck with it; they hit those two big shots. But we got to get better. We've known we got to get better."
While earning the overtime victory, the Mocs showed signs of the fortitude Harris thought the team lacked heading into the season.
"At the end I feel like they did show some mental toughness," Harris said. "I've seen them show that mental toughness in our first two games also, but they've got to carry it on. They got to be consistent."
Strawbridge earned her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Mocs. Vastola also scored 14 points in addition to a game-high five steals and three blocks. It was the second consecutive overtime win for the Mocs against PBA. On Jan. 25, 2014, FSC topped the Sailfish, 81-72, in overtime.
FSC will continue its six-game homestand with a 2 p.m. contest against Young Harris at Jenkins Field House on Saturday, Dec. 13.
