Box Score LAKELAND - Florida Southern closed out the 2015-16 regular season here Saturday afternoon with a signature victory as the Moccasins posted a 63-60 win over 18th-ranked Nova Southeastern in Sunshine State Conference action on Senior Night at Jenkins Field House.
With the victory, the Moccasins wrapped up the regular season with a 23-4 overall and a 12-4 mark in the SSC and earned the No. 3 seed in next week's SSC Tournament. The Mocs will open the SSC Tournament with a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, March 2 against No. 6 seeded Rollins (13-13, 7-9 SSC).
Saturday's game marked the final regular season home game for the Moccasins' three seniors - forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.), guard Sydni Payne (Conyers, Ga.) and guard Shaquita Snow (Racine, Wis.).
"I am happy that the seniors were able to get a win on Senior Night," Moccasin head coach Betsy Harris said following the game.
Trailing 60-59 with a little under two minutes to play, Moccasin junior guard Jensen Blassage (Cherry Valley, Ill.) scored on a lay-up with 58 seconds to play to give the Mocs a 61-60 lead and then after NSU failed to score on its next possession, the Mocs extended its lead to three with 15 seconds left following a bucket by Harris.
On NSU's ensuing possession, Harris would came through again, this time she blocked a game-tying 3-point shot attempt by Molly Blomer with four seconds left to seal the victory.
"Mariah hit the most important shot of the game," said the Moccasin coach following her team's 11th consecutive home victory. "She looked at me before that and said, 'What's wrong with my shot?' I told her to keep shooting because you've got to stop thinking about it."
Harris' basket was just her third of the game as she finished the night with just six points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field. Harris is now just two points shy of becoming the 20th member of the school's 1,000 Point Club. It was her third straight game of being held under double figures.
While Harris' offensive production was lacking on Saturday, the Mocs turned its offense over to Blassage as she finished the game with 19 points, including scoring 13 of them in the first half. Over her last three games, Blassage is averaging 19 points per game and shooting 58 percent from the field and 75 percent (6-for-8) from the 3-point line.
"Jensen has really stepped up offensively the last few games and that has been nice to see," the Moccasin coach added.
In addition to Blassage, freshman forward Anja Fuchs-Robetin (Vienna, Austria) added 11 points and five boards, while Snow and freshman guard Camille Giardina (Sarasota, Fla.) each had 10 points in the win.
The Mocs played only seven players in the game as three regular contributors - junior guards Flo Ward (Salisbury, England) and Bailey Florin (Orlando, Fla.) and junior forward Gianna Vastola (Sarasota, Fla.). Ward missed her second straight game due to a concussion suffered last Saturday against Embry-Riddle, while Florin will miss the remainder of the season due to a knee injury suffering against Palm Beach Atlantic and Vastola injured her ankle in the second quarter of Wednesday's game at Eckerd. Both Ward and Vastola are expected to play on Wednesday against Rollins, according to the Mocs coach.
Saturday's game was the second meeting this season between the two teams as the Sharks collected an 81-79 overtime win in Davie on Jan. 16. Saturday's win was the Mocs second consecutive over the Sharks in Lakeland as they earned a 78-63 win last season at Jenkins Field House.
NSU (22-5 overall, 13-3 SSC), who claimed its second straight SSC regular season title this season and is the No. 1 seed in the SSC Tournament, was paced offensively on the night by Kayla Wright as she tallied 18 points, while Monaye Merritt added 14 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
The Sharks, who are ranked No. 3 in this week's most recent NCAA Division II South Regional rankings, jumped to an early 5-2 lead in the first quarter. FSC, though, would respond with a 16-7 run to push out to an 18-12 lead with 1:20 left in the period. Wright and Blassage traded baskets to end the quarter to give the Mocs a 20-14 lead.
FSC,who is ranked sixth in the latest NCAA Division II South Regional rankings, would increase its lead to 10 just two minutes into the second quarter following a lay-up by Giardina, but NSU would close out the quarter on a 15-10 run to cut the Mocs halftime lead to 36-31. Wright and Giardina scored six points each in the quarter for their respective teams.
Much like the second quarter, NSU also won the third by an identical 17-16 score to cut the Mocs lead to 52-48 heading into the final quarter of play.
Wright opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a lay-up just 16 seconds in to drop FSC's lead to 52-50. The Mocs, though, answered with a 5-0 run capped by a trey from Snow to give the Mocs a 57-50 edge with 8:11 remaining.
The Mocs would hold onto lead for most of the quarter, until the Sharks used two free throws by Wright with 1:53 left to give NSU its 60-59 lead. The lead was the first for the Sharks since a 12-11 edge with 3:28 left in the opening quarter.
For the game, the Mocs shot 48 percent from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line, while NSU finished the game shooting 44 percent from the floor, but just 32 percent from long distance.
FSC held a 32-31 edge on the glass and forced Nova into 13 turnovers that led to 18 points. The Mocs committed just 11 turnovers on the night.
The Mocs also blocked five shots, including two from Harris as she also led the team in rebounds with five.
Here is the complete SSC Women's Basketball Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, March 2 - Quarterfinals (Campus Sites)
#8 seed Lynn (4-22, 2-14) at #1 seed Nova Southeastern (22-5, 13-3), 7 p.m.
#5 seed Tampa (16-12, 9-7) at #4 seed Barry (19-8, 10-6), 5:30 p.m.
#7 seed Eckerd (12-13, 6-10) at #2 seed Florida Tech (18-8, 12-4), 7 p.m.
#6 seed Rollins (13-13, 7-9) at #3 seed Florida Southern (23-4, 12-4), 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 5 - Semifinals (ICI Center - Daytona Beach)
Semifinal #1 - NSU/Lynn winner vs. Barry/Tampa winner, 5 p.m.
Semifinal #2 - Florida Tech/Eckerd winner vs. FSC/Rollins winner, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 6 - Championship
Semifinal #1 winner vs. Semifinal #2 winner, 4 p.m.
Click here for a complete SSC Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket
