Moccasin Game Notes vs. Saint Leo

MOCCASIN QUICK NOTES
* - FSC looks to return to the win column on Saturday, Jan. 30 as they return home to Jenkins Field House (2,500) for a 5:30 p.m. Sunshine State Conference tilt against Saint Leo (4-15 overall, 1-9 SSC). The game will mark the 11th home game of the season for the Mocs and its sixth home game in SSC play. In addition, it is the first of two consecutive home games for the Mocs as FSC will host Palm Beach Atlantic on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m.  
* - The Mocs are 9-1 at home this season with the only loss coming to Florida Tech (73-61) on Dec. 5. Since that loss to the Panthers, the Mocs have reeled off six consecutive home wins, including three straight home wins in SSC play.
* - FSC's wins at home in SSC play came against Barry (71-55), Tampa (71-67), Eckerd (73-65) and Lynn (79-53). 
* - With its 79-53 win at home last Saturday against Lynn, the Mocs improved to 9-1 on the season and extended its home court win streak to six consecutive games since suffering a 73-61 loss to Florida Tech on Dec. 5.  
* - The Mocs come into Saturday's game looking to rebound after having its two-game win streak snapped on Wednesday at Barry (62-54). The loss at Barry was the third overall loss of the season for the Mocs, all of which have come in league play.
* - The Mocs have opened league play by winning seven of its first 10 games and has won four of its last six league contests since suffering its home loss to Florida Tech on Dec. 5. The only losses since the setback to Florida Tech came at then 11th-ranked Nova Southeastern on Jan. 16 as the Mocs fell in overtime to the Sharks, 81-79 and on Wednesday at Barry, 62-54.
* - The Mocs come into play on Saturday sporting a 16-3 overall record and a 7-3 mark in the SSC. FSC, who is third in the league standings and is 1/2 game behind second place Florida Tech, has won eight of its last 10 games overall since having its eight game win streak to open the 2015-16 season snapped at home on Dec. 5 against Florida Tech. In that game, the Panthers earned a 73-61 win over the Mocs. The loss at Nova Southeastern on Jan. 16 snapped the Mocs six game win streak and the Mocs then started a new win streak with a 72-66 road win at Rollins on Jan. 20 and extended that streak to two games with its win last Saturday against Lynn (79-53), before falling in its last outing at Barry.
* - The 16 wins this season has already eclipsed last season's victory total by three victories as the Mocs posted a 13-14 overall record in 2014-15. The 16 wins are the most for the Mocs in a season since winning 24 games in 2011-12.
* - With its 16 wins this season, the Mocs have assured themselves of recording its first winning season since 2011-12 when the Mocs posted a 24-7 overall record. It will mark the 29th all-time winning season in program history and the sixth in the last nine years. 
* - Prior to the loss to Florida Tech, the Mocs had opened the season with an 8-0 record, which is the second best start to a season in program history and just the second 8-0 start ever as the only other 8-0 start came in 1992-93 as that team coached by FSC Hall of Famer Norm Benn opened the season winning its first 16 games and finished the year with a 25-3 overall record. 
* - The eight game winning streak earlier this season was the longest for the Mocs since recording seven straight victories during the 2011-12 season. 
* - FSC has had an eight game, a six game winning streak and a two-game winning streak this season. The Mocs have yet to lose consecutive games this season. 
* - The 16-3 start to this season is tied for the second best 19 game start in school history. The best 19 game start for the Mocs after is 18-1 set by the 1992-93 squad. The last time the Mocs opened the season by winning 16 of its first 19 games was in 2011-12. They finished that season with a 24-7 overall record. 
* - The Mocs opened SSC play winning its first three games for the first time since the 2010-11 squad opened league play winning its first six games en route to finishing with a 14-2 SSC record. 
* - With its loss on Wednesday at Barry, FSC fell to 7-2 away from home this season, including being 3-2 on the road in SSC play. Wednesday's game at Barry was just the fifth road game for the Mocs since Dec. 2 and fourth in the 2016 calendar year.
* - FSC is 23-13 all-time in SSC openers following its win in this season's league opener over Barry on Nov. 18. The Mocs have now won five of its last seven SSC openers, including winning two straight league openers against Barry. 
* - The Mocs are a perfect 9-0 in non-conference play this season following its win at Embry-Riddle on Jan. 6 and the Mocs have won nine straight regular season games against non-conference foes since falling at Palm Beach Atlantic 53-47 on Jan. 31, 2015. The Mocs have two non-conference regular season games left this season as they host both Palm Beach Atlantic and Embry-Riddle.
* - The Mocs are ranked 23rd in the latest D2SIDA National Media Poll and 24th in this week's latest USA Today Sports/WBCA Division II Coaches' Poll. In addition, the Mocs are fourth in the latest D2SIDA South Region Media poll. It marks the first time the Mocs have been ranked in the WBCA Coaches' Poll since the final poll of the 2011-12 season when FSC was ranked 22nd.  
* - Through 18 games this season, the Mocs are averaging 75.8 points per game, which leads the SSC and is 26th nationally and the Mocs are also third in the SSC and 23rd nationally in field goal percentage (45.3 percent) and is fourth in the SSC and 33rd nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (36.3 percent). 
* - The Mocs are second in the SSC and 28th nationally in free throw shooting as they are shooting 75.5 percent at the line on the year and over its five games, the Mocs are shooting 76.7 percent (92-for-120) from the free throw line.
* - On the season, the Mocs have scored 75 or more points in nine games and have been held under 65 points in just four games as they tallied 63 at USC Aiken, scored 60 in its win at Palm Beach Atlantic, had 61 in the loss against Florida Tech and was held to a season low 54 points in its loss at Barry.
* - FSC scored over 90 points in its first two games this season and that marked the first time since the 2008-09 season that the Mocs had scored 90 or more points in back-to-back games. The Mocs haven't had more than two consecutive games of scoring 90+ plus points since a four game stretch of 90+ point games during the 1995-96 season. During the 1995-96 season, FSC had 13 games of scoring 90 or more points. 
* - The Mocs have had a player tabbed as the SSC Player of the Week five times this season, including sweeping both the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week accolade on Nov. 30. Sophomore guard Jensen Blassage (Offensive) and senior forward Mariah Harris (Defensive) swept the award on Nov. 30, while senior guard Sydni Payne was named the SSC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 23 and was named the SSC Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 16. Blassage was also named the Defensive Player of the Week on Jan. 11 and Harris was named this week's Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 18).
* - With their two Player of the Week honors this season, Blassage, Harris and Payne are just the third, fourth and fifth Moccasins since 2005 to twice be named SSC Player of the Week in the same season. Michaela Hawley earned the honor four times in 2011-12, while Emma Cannon was also a four-time recipient in 2010-11. FSC Hall of Famer Lucresia West is the most recognized Moccasin with 15 SSC Player of the Week honors during her four-year career from 2001-02 to 2004-05. 
* - As a team, the Mocs are third in the SSC in rebound margin (+1.4), lead the SSC and is 34th nationally in turnover margin (+4.2) and is third in the SSC in steals (9.0 per game).
* - With the 16 wins this season, Moccasin second year coach Betsy Harris has improved her FSC coaching record to 29-17 as the Mocs coach. In addition, she is 97-44 in her fifth season as a collegiate coach and is three victories shy of winning 100 career games.  
* - FSC's seven SSC wins last season were one more than the Mocs had won the previous two years combined in SSC play as they went a combined 9-26 in SSC play as they went 4-12 in 2012-13 and 2-14 in 2013-14. FSC was 7-9 in SSC play a season ago. 
*  - The Mocs 13 overall wins last season were six more than they won all of the previous season combined as they closed the 2013-14 season with a 7-20 overall record and went 13-14 in 2014-15.  
* - Senior forward Mariah Harris has scored 912 points and collected 568 career rebounds in 99 games as a Moccasin. She is 88 points away from becoming the 20th member of the school's 1,000 Point Club entering this weekend's action and went over the 500 career rebound mark against Saint Leo on Dec. 2. She is one of 22 Moccasins in school history to pull down 500 or more career rebounds and is currently 17th on the school's all-time rebound chart with 568 career rebounds.

MOCS SEEK SEVENTH STRAIGHT HOME WIN, HOST SAINT LEO SATURDAY
No. 24/23rd-ranked Florida Southern (16-3 overall, 7-3 SSC) will be seeking its seventh straight home win on Saturday, Jan. 30 as the Mocs return home to Jenkins Field House (2,500) for a 5:30 p.m. game against Saint Leo (4-15 overall, 1-9 SSC). The game will be the second this season between the two schools as the Mocs picked up an 82-73 win at Saint Leo on Dec. 2 to move to 3-0 in the league play.

FSC comes into Saturday's game sitting just a 1/2 game out of second place in the SSC standings as Florida Tech (7-2) is currently in second place in the league standings. The Mocs are two games behind SSC leader Nova Southeastern, who leads the league with a 9-1 record as NSU's lone loss came at Tampa (71-45) on Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, Saint Leo comes into the game sporting a 4-15 record and is 1-9 in the SSC standings. The Lions enter the game having dropped six straight games since picking up a 66-53 non-conference home win to open the New Year against Palm Beach Atlantic. SLU's latest loss in this current streak came on Wednesday at home against Eckerd as the Lions suffered a 63-48 loss. In addition to the win over PBA, SLU's other wins this season came against Paine (81-58), Warner (74-46) and at Lynn (64-60). Since the win over Lynn, the Lions have lost six straight SSC games and is sporting a 2-8 record away from home, including a 1-4 mark on opponents home courts. SLU is 1-4 away from home in SSC play and has lost three straight league contests on the road since that victory over Lynn. The Lions haven't played on the road since falling 79-64 last Saturday at nationally-ranked Nova Southeastern.

The Mocs had its two-game win streak snapped in its last outing on Wednesday at Barry (62-54). Prior to the loss at Barry, FSC had picked up wins at Rollins (72-66) and at home last Saturday against Lynn (79-53). The win over Rollins came four days after FSC had its six game win streak snapped with an 81-79 overtime loss at then 11th-ranked Nova Southeastern. Prior to the loss to the Sharks, the Mocs had reeled off six consecutive victories as they earned home wins over Eckerd (73-65) and Tampa (71-67) and at Embry-Riddle (87-71) to open the New Year and also earned a win over Flagler (73-47) to close out the 2015 calendar year and also picked up wins against both Emmanuel (79-67) and Lake Superior State (69-64) at the FSC/Terrace Hotel Classic to close out its pre-Christmas schedule on Dec. 17-18. 

MOCS WIN SIXTH STRAIGHT AT HOME 
Thanks to its 79-53 win last Saturday against Lynn, the Mocs extended its home win streak to six consecutive victories. The six game home win streak is the longest for the Mocs since winning seven straight home games during the 2011-12 season.

With nine home wins this season, the Mocs are one home win shy of achieving its 22nd season of winning at least 10 home games. In addition, it marks the second consecutive season that FSC has won at least nine home games as they posted a 9-4 record at home a season ago.

FOURTH HOME GAME OF NEW YEAR FOR MOCS
Saturday's game with Saint Leo will mark the fourth home game of the New Year and the second home game in the last seven days. The Mocs opened the New Year with a 71-67 win over Tampa, a 73-65 win over Eckerd and a 79-53 win in its last home game against Eckerd last Saturday. The Mocs have played seven home games since the beginning of December and is 6-1 in those seven games.  

SATURDAY'S GAME
Saturday's match-up with Saint Leo will mark the 83rd meeting between the two schools. FSC holds a 72-10 lead in the series, including winning three straight games and 11 of the last 15 meetings overall, including earning an 82-73 win earlier this season at Saint Leo.

Last season, FSC won both meetings for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Nine of SLU's 10 wins in the series have come since the beginning of the 2001-02 season, including winning six games in the series since the beginning of the 2007-08 season.

The Mocs lead the series 35-4 in Lakeland and holds a 32-6 edge in Saint Leo and also leads 5-0 on neutral courts. Harris is 3-0 against the Lions as the Mocs coach. 

A WIN WOULD...
• Give FSC its 17th victory of the season, which would be the most wins in a season since finishing with 24 wins (24-7 overall record) in 2011-12.
• Give FSC its eighth win in SSC play this season and improve its league record to 8-3.
• Improve FSC to 10-1 at home and 5-1 at home in SSC play. 
• Extend its home win streak to seven straight games and its home SSC win streak to four consecutive games.
• Sweep the season series from Saint Leo for the second consecutive season.

MOCS HAVE THREE MORE WINS THAN LAST SEASON'S VICTORY TOTAL
Thanks to its 79-53 home win last Saturday at home against Lynn, the Mocs have now won three more games than they won all of last season as the Mocs won 13 games in 2014-15 and have already won 16 games this season. FSC completed last season with a 13-14 overall record. The 16 wins this season are the most in a season for the Mocs since earning 24 wins during the 2011-12 season and finishing with a 24-7 overall record.

MOCS WITHIN FIVE WINS OF 17TH ALL-TIME 20 WIN SEASON
The Mocs are within four wins of earning the program's 17th all-time 20 win campaign in school history and the first 20 win season for the Mocs since posting a 24-7 record in 2011-12. Since the beginning of the 2000-01 season, FSC has posted four 20 win campaigns and have also now had 10 winning seasons during that stretch as they have already secured a winning season this year.

MOCS OFF TO SECOND BEST 19 GAME START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
As the Mocs have now played 19 this season, FSC has opened the season by winning 16 of its first 19 games. The 16-3 record is tied for the second-best 19 game start in school history. In addition to opening this season with a 16-3 record, the Mocs also opened the  2011-12, 2009-10, 1995-96 and 1994-95 seasons with a 16-3 record.

The all-time best 19 game start in school history is 18-1, which was set by the 1992-93 squad coached by Moccasin Hall of Fame coach Norm Benn. That 1992-93 squad opened the season by winning its first 16 games.

ABOUT THE MOCCASINS
The Moccasins come into Saturday's home game with Lynn having won 16 of its first 19 games this season, including opening the 2015-16 campaign by winning its first eight games, which was the second best start to a season in the program's history. FSC is currently sporting a 16-3 overall record and a 7-3 mark in the SSC with its only losses coming at home against Florida Tech, 73-61 on Dec. 5, at then 11th-ranked Nova Southeastern in overtime (81-79) on Jan. 16 and at Barry on Wednesday (62-54). Since that Florida Tech loss, the Mocs have won eight of its last 10 games, including opening the 2016 calendar year with three straight wins before the loss at Nova Southeastern.

Leading the way for the Mocs through 19 games this season is senior forward Mariah Harris. Harris leads the Mocs in both scoring  and rebounding as she is averaging 13.7 points and 6.1 rebounds and has blocked a team best 18 shots (1.0 blocks per game), including a career high four blocks against Flagler. Harris is sixth in the SSC in scoring and tied for seventh in rebounding. On the season, Harris, who was named the SSC Defensive Player of the Week on both Nov. 30 and Jan. 17, is second in the SSC in field goal percentage at 57 percent and has reached double figures in 14 of her last 16 games, including eight times in her last nine game and 15 times on the year overall and has had five or more boards in 11 of her last 15 games and has had two double-doubles as she had 14 points and 12 rebounds at Claflin and tallied 19 points and career-high tying 13 rebounds at Rollins.

In addition to Harris, sophomore guard Jensen Blassage  is second on the team in scoring as she is averaging 11.7 points per game and is also averaging 4.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field and 92 percent (57-for-62) from the free throw line. She is 10th in the SSC in scoring and second in the league in assists (3.8 per game) and third in the SSC in assist/turnover ratio (1.9). Blassage, who was named the SSC Player of the Week on Nov. 30 and earned SSC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Jan. 11, has scored in double figures in 12 games, including seven times in her last 10 games and 11 times in her last 15 games and has dished out five or more assists in six of her last 14 games and posted her first career double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds in the win at Embry-Riddle.

As a team, the Mocs are second in the SSC and 27th nationally in scoring as they are averaging 74.6 points per game and have scored 70 or more points in 14 of 19 games, including eight times in its last 10 outings. In addition, FSC is third in the league in field goal percentage (44.5 percent), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (36.5 percent) and lis second in free throw percentage (75.5 percent). FSC is in the Top 40 nationally in field goal shooting (23rd), 3-point shooting (33rd) and free throw shooting (28th). The Mocs are outscoring is foes by a +9.8 margin (2nd in SSC) and 39th nationally and are outrebounding its foes by a +1.7 margin and are forcing 17.5 turnovers per game (+4.0 margin), which leads the SSC and is 34th nationally. On defense, the Mocs are allowing its foes to score 64.8 points per game and have held 16 of its last 17 opponents under 75 points, including allowing a season low 47 points against Flagler. FSC is allowing its foes to shoot 41.1 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from the 3-point line on the year.  

70 POINTS IS MAGIC NUMBER FOR THE MOCS
Coming into this weekend's action with Saint Leo, the Mocs have posted a 39-5 record when scoring 70 or more points in a game since the beginning of the 2011-12 season. This season, the Mocs are 13-1 this season when scoring 70 points or more points in a game and posted a 10-2 record last season when scoring 70 or more points. In SSC play last year, the Mocs finished 7-1 when they scored 70 or more points and were 0-8 when scoring under 70 points and are 7-1 when scoring 70 or more points in SSC play this season with the only loss being an 81-79 overtime setback at Nova Southeastern. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. SAINT LEO
Saturday's match-up with Saint Leo will mark the 83rd meeting between the two schools. FSC holds a 72-10 lead in the series, including winning three straight games and 11 of the last 15 meetings overall. Nine of SLU's 10 wins in the series have come since the beginning of the 2001-02 season, including winning six games in the series since the beginning of the 2007-08 season. 

Saturday's game will mark the second meeting this season between the two schools as the Mocs earned an 82-73 win earlier this season (Dec. 2) in Saint Leo.

In that game, the Mocs used a 21 point third quarter to turn a 34-30 halftime lead into a 55-38 advantage heading into the final quarter and then held off a 35 point fourth quarter by the Lions to post an 82-73 victory.

Camille Giardina led the Mocs with a career high 22 points, while Blassage added 17 points and Harris chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds. The Mocs shot a season high 64 percent from the field and 62 percent from the 3-point line in the win.

SLU was paced offensively by Izabell Skoogh's 18 points as the Lions shot 48 percent from the field and 32 percent from the 3-point line in the loss. 

FSC lead the series, 35-4 in Lakeland and holds a 32-6 edge in Saint Leo. The Mocs also lead 5-0 on neutral courts. Harris is 3-0 against the Lions as the Mocs coach.

SCOUTING SAINT LEO
Saint Leo enters Saturday's game with a 4-15 overall record and are eighth in the SSC with a 1-9 league record. The Lions have dropped six straight games since earning a 65-53 home win over Palm Beach Atlantic on Jan. 2. SLU's latest loss came on Wednesday night at home as the Lions fell 63-48 to Eckerd. 

The Lions, who are 2-8 away from home this season, have lost six consecutive games away from home since earning its only SSC road win of the season at Lynn on Dec. 5. In that game, SLU picked up a 64-60 win over the Fighting Knights. SLU is 1-4 away from home in SSC play as along with earning its win at Lynn, the Lions SSC road losses have come against Eckerd (68-51), Florida Tech (63-47), Tampa (76-58) and nationally-ranked Nova Southeastern (79-64). 

Leading the way for the Lions is junior forward Chelsy Springs, who is averaging a team best 17.0 points per game and also leads the team in rebounding as she averages 8.5 boards per game and is shooting 53 percent from the field and has recorded seven double-doubles on the year, including a 15 point, 10 rebound effort in her last outing against Eckerd. In the first meeting this season with FSC, Springs had 15 points and four rebounds. 

In addition to Springs, freshman guard Izabell Skoogh is averaging 8.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 32 percent from the field and 30 percent from the 3-point line, while sophomore guard Mary Redmond is averaging 8.1 points per game and has made a team-best 34 treys and is shooting a team best 80 percent at the free throw line. 

As a team, Saint Leo is averaging 59.7 points per game and is shooting 36 percent from the field and 28 percent from the 3-point line and are averaging 18.4 turnovers per game. The Lions are also averaging 8.5 steals per game and are making 5.4 treys per game. On defense, the Lions are allowing 68.6 points per game and their foes are shooting 41 percent from the floor and 33 percent from the 3-point line. 

Saint Leo is coached by Missy West, who is in her second season guiding the Lions program. In her one-plus seasons at SLU, West, who graduated from Duke in 2001, has posted a 13-33 record and is 141-110 in her 10th season as a collegiate head coach.