Complete Moccasin Game Notes
LAKELAND – The Moccasin women's basketball team will look to carry over the momentum from its 90-point scoring effort in the win over Lynn into Wednesday's 5:30 p.m. matchup against No. 13 Rollins.
Not only was Saturday's victory over the Fighting Knights the highest scoring game of the season for Florida Southern's offense, but it ended its four-game losing streak.
"It feels good to finally get a win because we had lost four in a row," said first-year head coach Betsy Harris. "You get the win and you can breathe a little bit.
"But then you get somebody like Rollins coming in, who is a very good team."
Five different Mocs scored double-digit points, tied for the most in a game this season. They supplemented a modest 42.4 shooting percentage (25-for-59) by going 41.7 percent (5-for-12) from 3-point range, the highest since Jan. 7 against Saint Leo, and their 35 made free throws was by far the most in a game this season.
"Thirty-five made free throws, that's a lot of points from the free throw line," Harris said.
In fact, the 35 made free throws were only three shy of the program record for the most in a single game. In comparison, the Mocs were a combined 22-for-37 from the foul line in the three previous games, and only 2-for-5 in the loss to Tampa on Jan. 21.
"(Free throws) always make a difference in a game," Harris added. "If we don't hit those free throws on Saturday we easily could have lost. The girls were able to hit them in a tight situation."
As to whether or not the Mocs would be able to get to the line against Rollins, Harris said she'll have to wait and see.
"It really depends," she said. "We never know how to play until we play the game; sometimes it's tight and sometimes it's loose. If they come at us then we do want to go back at them and be aggressive, and hopefully get some hand checks. We need to get some points from the line."
Freshman guard Jensen Blassage has found success from the charity stripe. The Rockford, Ill., native is 27-for-33 (81.8 percent) on the season and has missed only one (22-for-23) since Dec. 19. Blassage was 7-for-7 on Saturday at Lynn.
Junior Ali Sanders (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) was one of three players to lead the Mocs with 16 points against the Fighting Knights. For the 5-7 guard, who was FSC's leading scorer a year ago, it was only her second double-digit performance of the season.
"She (Ali) looked more relaxed; she didn't seemed like she wasn't forcing her shot like she has been," Harris said. "I told her she was trying too hard and she had to let the game come to her. She actually handled the ball some, which before she looked nervous but Saturday she didn't. She played with a lot better confidence and seemed a lot more comfortable in the offense. We need Ali to do that every game if possible."
The Mocs will need every point they can get against Rollins, who enters Wednesday's contest ranked No. 13 in the latest USA Division II Coaches Poll. The Tars sit atop the Sunshine State Conference with a 6-1 league record. Defensively, they lead the conference and rank fourth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 53.8 points per game.
"Rollins is a very good team," Harris said. "Similar to all the teams we've played in our conference, they can shot the ball and they can drive it. They have a solid post player, so they're going to be hard to guard.
"We don't have a chance if we don't hit any shots because they're a solid team. We're going to have to hit shots like we did against Lynn."
Rollins (14-2, 6-1 SSC) has won two straight since losing 75-63 against Eckerd in St. Petersburg, Fla. They upset then-undefeated Florida Tech on Jan. 21, 72-65. Last time out, they topped Tampa, 63-46, in a home contest.
The other blemish on the Tars' schedule was against then-No. 4 Lewis, now the No. 1 team in the nation. The Flyers are still undefeated at 17-0.
Rollins senior Emmalee Schill is the reigning SSC Player of the Week. She also won the award in Week 1. The 6-2 forward scored 12 points with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals against Florida Tech. She added 17 points, five rebounds, three blocks and one assist against Tampa. On the season, Schill is ninth in the conference with 12.9 points per game and 11th in rebounding with 6.0. Showing her versatility, she is also 42.9 percent (18-for-42) from beyond the arc.
Last season, Schill was named the SSC Defensive Player of the Year, leading the league with 50 blocks in 32 games. In 2013-14, she averaged 10.8 points and 6.0 rebounds.
The other Tar to start all 16 games this season is Ashley Losch, a 5-11 senior forward. She leads the team and is fourth in the SSC with 7.4 rebounds per game. She is second on the team with 11.2 points per game.
Rollins head coach Glenn Wilkes Jr. has complied a more than impressive résumé with the Tars. Wilkes currently has a 642-208 record now in his 29th season in Winter Park. Entering the 2014-15 season, his 628 career wins ranked seventh-best among active Division II coaches and 13th all-time. He is a nine-time SSC Coach of the Year, and the Tars have never finished below .500 during his tenure.
Wilkes played for his father, Glenn Wilkes Sr., during his four-year career at Stetson University. Wilkes Sr. amassed 552 career wins in 36 years as the head coach of the Hatters and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in November of 2014.
The Mocs lead the all-time series against the Tars, 46-42. The series began on Feb. 20, 1979 when FSC defeated the Tars, 74-32. In Lakeland, the Mocs lead the series, 26-14, but are only 15-22 in Winter Park and 5-6 in neutral site games. The Mocs won the first 18 games of the series, including the only 100-point performance of the 36-year series. In the third matchup on Feb. 1, 1981, they dominated the Tars, 105-49.
Rollins has been in control of the series as of late. The Tars are 18-5 against the Mocs since March 5, 2005. Their current six-game win streak is tied for their longest of the series. Last season, the Tars swept the two-game regular-season series and then topped the Mocs in the first round of the SSC Tournament.
Following Wednesday's game, the Mocs return to the road against Palm Beach Atlantic, a provisional member of the Sunshine State Conference, on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. in West Palm Beach, Fla.
