Moccasins Host Tampa to Close Out 2014-15 Home Schedule

MOCCASIN QUICK NOTES
* - FSC enters this week's action sporting a 12-12 overall record and a 6-8 mark in the SSC.
* - After after dropping a pair of road contests at No. 21 Florida Tech on Feb. 14 and Eckerd on Feb. 18, the Mocs returned to the win column this past Saturday as they earned a 74-68 home win over Lynn.
* - Wednesday's game will mark the 13th home game of the season. FSC is 8-4 at home home this season and is 4-3 at home in SSC play.
* - Wednesday's match-up against Tampa will also mark the second game this season between the two schools. The Mocs suffered a 63-52 loss to the Spartans in Tampa on Jan. 21.
* - Wednesday's game will mark the final home game of the season for the Mocs and also for the Mocs two seniors - Syerra Davis and Cashala Thompson. Both of them will be recognized in a postgame ceremony following completion of the game.
* - The Mocs hold a 55-34 all-time series lead over Tampa, but the Spartans have won five straight games in the series, including sweeping the season series the past two years. 
* - Cashala Thompson comes into Wednesday's game sitting sixth on the school's all-time made three-pointers list as she has hit 114 in her two years as a Moccasin. 
* - FSC is fourth in the SSC in field goal percentage as they are shooting 42.0 percent from the field and is fourth in the league in free throw pecentage as they are shooting 70.5 percent from the line.
*- The Mocs are one of the top rebounding teams in the SSC. They are fourth in the league with 37.8 rebounds per game, and are fourth in rebounding defense, allowing opponents to grab only 35.3 per game. FSC is fourth in the league in offensive rebounds with 12.1 per game.
* - Senior guard Cashala Thompson is second in the SSC in made 3-pointers per game (2.3) and is 10th in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (35 percent) as she is 56-for-160 from long distance on the year.
* - Sophomore forward Christin Strawbridge is sixth in the league field goal percentage (55.3 percent) and seventh in rebounding (6.6 per game).  
* - Senior guard Syerra Davis is second on the team and 10th in the SSC in rebounds (6.3 per game). Davis is also second on the team with 55 assists and third in steals with 26. 
* - Junior forward Mariah Harris has scored 634 points and c9.7 ollected 436 career rebounds in 77 games to lead all active Moccasins. She leads the team with 10.4 points per game in SSC play.
*- Freshman guard Jensen Blassage scored a career-high 16 points in the win over No. 24 Nova Southeastern on Feb. 7. Blassage averages 8.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in SSC play, both up from her non-conference totals. Her field goal percentage in SSC games is also higher, 44.1 percent as compared to 34.7 percent in non-league games.
* - Mocs head coach Betsy Harris is in her first season as the helm of the program and has compiled an 12-12 record and is 80-39 overall in her fourth season as a collegiate coach.

MOCS CONCLUDE HOME SCHEDULE BY HOSTING TAMPA FOR SENIOR NIGHT
Florida Southern (12-12 overall, 6-8 SSC) hosts Tampa (15-9 overall, 8-6 SSC) at Jenkins Field House (1,800) on Wednesday, Feb. 25 as they conclude the home portion of its 2014-15 schedule. The game will mark the 15th of 16 SSC games this season for the Mocs and its their 13th home game. A win on Wednesday would extend FSC's home win streak to four consecutive games. The Mocs won back-to-back games at Jenkins Field House on Feb. 7 in an upset over No. 24 Nova Southeastern (78-63) and on Feb. 11 over Saint Leo (70-50), before picking up a 74-68 win this past Saturday against Lynn.

The win over Lynn snapped a two-game losing skid for the Mocs and helped the Mocs retain their No. 6 spot in the league standings with two regular season games remaining. 

The Mocs had opportunities to win both of their recent losses. Last Wednesday, they held a one-point halftime lead, and after an Ali Sanders 3-pointer in the first 30 seconds of the second half, led 29-27. However, over the next 12 minutes, the Tritons doubled the Mocs with a 34-17 run to take a 61-46 lead with 7:35 to go. FSC whittled the deficit to as little as four points, but it proved to be too much to overcome.

Against then-21st ranked Florida Tech on Feb. 14, the Mocs were looking for their second upset of a ranked opponent in three games, and held a six-point lead over the Panthers midway through the second half. FSC clung to a 59-58 lead with 6:24 to go, but Florida Tech went on a 19-5 run to finish the game.

Last time out against Tampa, the Mocs were unable to recover from a second-half run by the Spartans as UT posted a 63-52 win over the Mocs. Leading 41-40 with 9:19 to go, the Spartans went on a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to run away with the lead and the win. UT's run was fueled by a pair of 3-pointers. The first trey, scored by Ellen Nurmi at 7:33, gave her team a 46-40 lead. Vanessa Sylvain sunk the second 1:34 later to increase Tampa's advantage to nine, 51-42. A layup from Juliana Cavallaro, followed by a two free throws from Aisha Rodney, gave Tampa its largest cushion of the night at 13 points, 55-42.

Rodney scored a game-high 20 points in the win for Tampa.

WEDNESDAY'S GAME MARKS FINAL HOME GAME FOR MOCS TWO SENIORS
Wednesday's game with Tampa will mark the final home game for FSC's two seniors this season - Syerra Davis and Cashala Thompson. Those two players have played the last two seasons for the Mocs and have combined to score 698 points and play in a combined in 91 games, including each player seeing action in all 24 games this season. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. TAMPA
Wednesday's game will be the 90th all-time meeting between Florida Southern and  Tampa. The Mocs lead the all-time series against the Spartans, 55-34. They hold a 27-14 advantage at home, 23-19 in road games and 5-1 in neutral site games since the series began in 1978. Tampa swept the two-games series over the last two seasons and are on a five-game win streak, their longest of the series. In 2013-14, the Spartans defeated the Mocs in Lakeland, 72-62, and in Tampa, 69-45. FSC's last win over Tampa came on Feb. 29, 2012 in the first round of the SSC Tournament by a final score of 79-63.

SCOUTING TAMPA
Tampa enters the contest at a record of 15-9 overall record and an 8-6 mark in the SSC. The Spartans enter the game having lost two of its last three games, but is fresh off a 66-47 win last Saturday at home over Rollins. Prior to the Rollins, UT had lost back-to-back league games at home to Eckerd (75-65) and at Saint Leo (63-61). UT has been strong at home this season as they are sporting a 9-3 record, but have posted just a 6-6 record away from home, including a 3-4 mark in road SSC games. The Spartans, who were Top 10 nationally ranked earlier this season, has dropped four of its last six SSC road contests with the only wins coming at Barry (61-49) and Lynn (76-45).

Juliana Cavallaro leads the way offensively for the Spartans as she is averaging 16.0 points per game, which is third-most in the SSC. In addition, Cavallaro also averages 5.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3-point line and 81 percent at the free throw line.

Two other Spartans average in double figures as Aisha Rodney is averaging 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 56 percent from the field and 79 percent at the foul line and Ellen Nurmi is averaging 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and she is shooting 43 percent from the floor, 32 percent from the 3-point line and 79 percent from the free throw line.

Last season, the Spartans, who are coached by Tom Jessee, who is in his 13th season at UT, reached the NCAA South Regional Tournament championship game for the first time in school history, but fell to Nova Southeastern, 56-53. Tampa entered 2014-15 as the favorite to win the Sunshine State Conference in the Preseason SSC Coaches' Poll. They began the season ranked 14th in NCAA Division II and reached as high as fifth in the nation.