Complete Moccasin Game Notes
LAKELAND – The Florida Southern women's basketball team will look to rebound from its first conference loss of the 2014-15 season when it hosts Eckerd College on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 5:30 p.m.
It won't be any easy task for the Moccasins (8-4, 2-1 SSC). Although they lead the Tritons by a half-game in the Sunshine State Conference standings, Eckerd enters Jenkins Field House sporting an 11-3 overall record.
Eckerd leads all of NCAA Division II in field goal percentage at 50.3 percent while ranking 24th in scoring defense with 58.2 points allowed per game and 26th in opponent's field goal percentage at 35.7 percent.
In their loss to No. 11 Nova Southeastern on Saturday, Jan. 10, the Moccasins watched the Sharks shoot 55.4 percent (31-for-56) from the field, both the highest percentage and most field goals allowed by the Mocs this season.
On the other end of the floor, the Mocs shot a season-worst 28.0 percent despite 75 attempts.
"I'm hoping that we got all of our misses out against Nova," said first-year head coach Betsy Harris.
In the first half, the Sharks worked the paint and outscored the Mocs there 24-to-4. In the second half, however, NSU was able to put the game away from beyond the arc, going 6-for-9 from 3-point range.
The Tritons' game plan may look similar. They have the ability to score from distance and in the paint.
"We're going to have to basically play them (the Tritons) like we tried to guard Nova, we just have to do a better job," Harris said. "They have great shooters and they have an inside presence. What I'm worried about is they have great chemistry. You can't break someone's chemistry. You just got to try to contain them as much as possible."
Eckerd features 6-3 forward Trine Kasemagi down low. The freshman from Tallinn, Estonia, is second on the team with 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. In addition, senior Ivana Grbic, who plays the four-guard, is sixth in the SSC in both rebounds (6.7) and field goal percentage (55.4). Grbic is the reigning SSC Player of the Week.
Senior guard Rana Thomas leads the team and is second in the SSC with 16.4 per game. Thomas is second on the Tritons with 21 3-pointers, one less than sophomore guard Victoria Vine.
The Moccasins' advantage starts on the defensive end.
Florida Southern is third in the SSC with 10.3 steals per game and Eckerd has the second-most turnovers per game in the league with 18.1. The Tritons are also second-to-last in turnover margin at minus-1.29 - the Mocs are plus-2.0.
"There are several of them that have more assists than turnovers, and that right there tells you they have smart ball players that know how to protect the ball," Harris said. "We want to pressure them enough but we have to be careful."
The Mocs may also be able to outwork the Tritons on the glass. In conference play, they are outrebounding the opposition by nearly 10 per game. In addition, FSC is averaging just under 18 offensive boards per game versus its three SSC opponents so far this season.
"That gives us a chance to win ballgames, we just have to make those second-chance points that we missed the other day," Harris said. "That's always going to be big for us."
The Mocs are 69-10 all-time against Eckerd, but the two teams are 6-6 in the last dozen games. The Tritons are currently on a four-game win streak over the Mocs after sweeping the series the last two seasons.
The last time FSC defeated Eckerd was on Feb. 8, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Fla. It was the last win of a five-game Moccasin win streak. Then-senior Michaela Hawley guided the Mocs to a 67-61 victory with 21 points and seven rebounds.
A win over Eckerd would provide a boost of confidence as Florida Southern continues to navigate the tough SSC slate in the second-half of the season.
"If we can pull it out tomorrow that would be huge for this team," added Harris.
