Box Score LAKELAND - Florida Southern rallied late in the second half to come from behind and defeat the Fighting Knights from Lynn University, 74-68, at Jenkins Field House Saturday night.
The Moccasins (12-12, 6-8 SSC) trailed Lynn (7-16, 1-13 SSC) by one at halftime, 32-31, and the Fighting Knights scored 10 of the first 14 points in the second half to take their largest lead of the contest, 42-35, at 16:29.
Junior forward Mariah Harris, who scored 13 of her team-high 20 points in the second half, scored the next five points and seven of the next nine to bring her team within two. Senior guard Cashala Thompson (Tucson, Ariz.) buried a trey at 12:19 to make it a one-point Lynn lead, 46-45.
The duo of Sharneka McCatty and Charla Nelson-James helped the Knights fight back. A pair of free throws from Nelson-James put Lynn ahead 54-51 and McCatty added a layup 24 seconds later to make it a five-point advantage. Another Nelson-James foul shot put the visitors back up by six, 57-51, with 8:14 to play in the second half, and the redshirt junior had her team ahead by five on a jumper, 61-56, with approximately six minutes to go.
The Mocs responded and closed the game on an 18-7 run. Freshman guard Jensen Blassage (Cherry Valley, Ill.) gave FSC its first lead since the opening minute of the second half on a coast-to-coast layup. The Mocs led 64-63 with 3:48 remaining.
The two teams found themselves tied on three separate occasions inside the final three minutes, the last time in a 68-68 deadlock with 44 seconds to play. From there, the Mocs ended on a 6-0 run, starting with a Mariah Harris layup.
The Gainesville, Fla., native turned in her second 20-point performance of the season and her fourth double-digit effort in FSC's last five outings. She also added four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. The 6-0 forward leads the team with 10.4 points per game inside Sunshine State Conference play.
"I couldn't have gotten them (my teammates) back in it if they wouldn't have passed it to me," Mariah Harris said. "The point guards and my teammates, they were looking, and it just so happens tonight they found me and I was able to finish.
"It's about being strong. We practiced it a lot, going up and looking for the contact and trying to finish in the paint. It was just a lot of practice and it paid off tonight."
"I thought Mariah did a great job," said head coach Betsy Harris. "We didn't have any energy, but when she scored, it helped us create that energy."
Lynn raced out to a 6-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game, the first four points of the hands of Nelson-James, while the Mocs came up empty-handed in their on their first three possessions.
FSC, however, responded with a 15-0 run. The Fighting Knights missed 13 straight field goal attempts during their nearly nine-minute scoring drought.
Down 6-4, Mariah Harris scored seven unanswered points. She completed the unconventional three-point play to give the Mocs their first lead, 7-6, at 16:45. The junior added a bucket and a pair of free throws to give the Mocs an 11-6 advantage at 13:03.
The visitors found the hot hand and fought back to tie the game at 17-all with 6:42 remaining before the intermission. Shatorria Baker nailed a 3-pointer to give Lynn a four-point cushion, 28-24, at 3:14, but junior Ali Sanders (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) responded with a trey of her own 22 seconds later.
Sophomore forward Danielle Thomas (Conyers, Ga.) had the Mocs ahead by one, but Lynn's Destiny Brown put the visitors up at the half, 32-31.
McCatty and Nelson-James combined for 42 of Lynn's 68 points, and McCatty's 25 were a career high. Brown netted a dozen points as well.
FSC also received 10 points each from Blassage, Thompson and senior guard Syerra Davis (Tolleson, Ariz.). Blassage dished out four assists while Davis added a game-high 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
The Mocs shot 51.6 percent (16-for-31) in the second half en route to the comeback, and outshot Lynn 49.1 percent to 39.3 percent in the game. FSC also outrebounded the Knights 41-to-32.
For the second straight game, Betsy Harris had only eight healthy players with four starters out due to injury. As a result, seven logged at least 20 minutes of playing time.
"It has done one thing, it has made players pick it up," said the first-year Moccasin head coach. "When we get (Christin Strawbridge) back, which we hope to next week, and if we're lucky enough to get (Gianna Vastola) back, the other players have already improved and it helps us out."
The Mocs will return to Jenkins Field House for Senior Night during their final regular-season home matchup of the 2014-15 season when they host Tampa on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 5:30 p.m.
