Box Score Click here for the postgame press conference
JACKSON, Tenn. - Sioux Falls bound!!
Florida Southern used 54 percent shooting in the second half and a 26 point third quarter here Monday evening to post a 64-56 victory over No. 2 seeded and 11th-ranked Benedict in the championship game of the NCAA Division II South Regional Championship at Fred DeLay Gymnasium on the campus of Union University.
Click here for a flickr gallery of postgame celebration photos
With the victory, the fourth-seeded Moccasins earn a spot in next week's Division II Elite Eight. It will mark Florida Southern's second-ever trip to the Elite Eight and first since the 1995 squad coached by FSC Hall of Famer Norm Benn advanced to the national quarterfinals in Fargo, N.D.
"It is definitely a great feeling. Everything we've done since the preseason from the early morning workouts, to the two-a-day workouts and all the sprints we've run is finally paying off," sophomore guard Jensen Blassage said when asked about advancing to the Elite Eight. "We're playing for each other, for our seniors and Bailey (Florin) because she can't be out there with us.
"This is a great feeling for our team right now."
The Mocs (27-5) will open up play in the 2016 Division II Elite Eight next Tuesday, March 22 with a 1 p.m. Eastern game against No. 1 ranked and South Central Regional Champion Lubbock Christian (32-0) in the first of four national quarterfinal games at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Lubbock Christian earned its first-ever Elite Eight appearance thanks to its 88-68 win over No. 4 seeded West Texas A&M on Sunday in the championship game of the South Central Regional.
NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament Interactive Bracket
"I actually don't think it has sunk in yet. I am very proud of these girls, not only for tonight's game, but for all that we've accomplished so far this season," Moccasin head coach Betsy Harris said in the postgame press conference. "I knew we'd have a tough time with Benedict, they are an excellent team that is well coached. We aren't supposed to here, so it feels really good to be here. I am happy for our seniors and I thought the effort was there tonight, but we didn't shoot the ball well again. We just kept fighting and playing hard."
FSC's win was keyed by the scoring of Blassage and senior guard Shaquita Snow (Racine, Wis.) as they combined for 33 of their team's 41 points. Blassage, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the South Regional, scored all of her season-high 24 points after halftime, including 18 of FSC's 26 third quarter points, while Snow, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, scored nine points in the second half, including six in the third quarter.
"In the first half, I wasn't doing much, but in the second half, I knew I'd have to drive, because that's what I normally do," said the Cherry Valley, Ill., native, who averaged 17.0 points per game in FSC's three South Regional Tournament wins. "I was able to get to the basket, hit some shots and it seemed to not only get me going, but also get our team going."
The 26 point third quarter came two nights after the Mocs rallied to score a season high tying 32 points in the fourth quarter of its 69-59 semifinal win on Saturday over Tampa. In that game, the Mocs outscored the Spartans, 32-15 in the fourth quarter to rally from a 12-point deficit.
"I told the team at the half that we needed to do the same thing in the second half tonight that we did in the fourth quarter against Tampa," said Harris, who was named this year's Sunshine State Conference co-Coach of the Year. "We have to do the same thing against Benedict. We knew they would come out at us hard, but we just have to go at them harder. It was big for us to get those 26 points in the third quarter."
While the Mocs scored 26 points in the third quarter, Benedict, who ends its season with a 29-3 record, scored 19 points, but was scoreless over the final two-and-half minutes of the quarter as the Mocs closed the period on an 11-0 lead to take a 49-42 lead heading into the final quarter.
"We didn't shoot the ball well in the first half, but in the second half, we came out and found our shot and just hit them, which is something we needed to do," said Harris, who won her 40th game as the Mocs coach on Monday night. Harris is now 40-19 in her second season at helm of the Mocs.
The Mocs also outscored the Lady Tigers, 15-14 in the final quarter, including scoring 12 of the game's final 19 points after Benedict had pulled within three following a lay-up by KaDeeja Vaughn. Vaughn's lay-up made the score 52-49 with 6:05 left in the game.
The Mocs would push its lead to six on a three-pointer from senior guard Sydni Payne (Conyers, Ga.) to give FSC a 55-49 lead with 4:35 left in the game. After Shirval Luke hit 1-of-2 free throws left with 3:04 to drop the Mocs lead to 55-50, FSC would score nine of the next 13 points, including Blassage hitting 4-of-5 free throws to push its lead to 64-54 with 25 seconds remaining.
Benedict's Dorothy Brown would cap the scoring with a basket with 16 seconds left.
"We were hungry tonight. We shot 53 percent in the second half, but we just find ways to stay in games when our shots aren't falling," the Mocs coach added. "With our shots not falling early in the game, we picked up our defense and we kept stressing that we have to hit shots and finally we began to hit some shots."
After Benedict scored the game's first four points in the opening 90 seconds of the game and led 7-4, the Mocs would score 13 of the quarter's final 19 points to take a 17-13 lead after the opening quarter. Junior forward Gianna Vastola (Sarasota, Fla.) and Snow combined to scored 15 of FSC's 17 first quarter points as Vastola tallied eight and Snow added seven.
In the second quarter Benedict outscored the Mocs 10-6 to force a 23-all tie at the half.
"I can't figure out why we've struggled shooting the ball in this tournament, because we shoot the ball a lot in practice. Maybe they'll come in the Elite Eight because we'll need our shots to fall considering we play the No. 1 team in the nation," Harris said when asked about her teams shooting woes in the first half. "But we found another way and that's what good teams do when they aren't hitting their shots."
In the first half, the Mocs shot 27 percent from the field and 20 percent (2-for-10) from the 3-point line, but shot 54 percent from the field and 60 percent (6-for-10) from downtown in the second half. For the game, the Mocs shot 39 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line.
It marked the first time in the South Regional Tournament that a team had shot better than 34 percent from the field in a half against Benedict in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Benedict shot 42 percent from the field in the game, including shooting 52 percent from the field in the second half and they shot just 17 percent (3-for-18) from the 3-point line in the season ending loss.
In addition to Blassage and Snow, Vastola finished with eight points, while Payne chipped in with seven points.
Brown led the Lady Tigers with 10 points, while Regime McCombs added nine points and Vaughn, Destiny Betts and Terri Jacobs each had eight points in the loss. Jacobs, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to help Benedict hold a 38-34 edge on the glass.
FSC forced Benedict into 15 turnovers that led to 14 points and held a 16-13 edge in second chance points thanks to collecting 14 offensive boards, including a combined seven from Vastola and junior forward Danielle Thomas (Conyers, Ga.). Vastola had four and Thomas pulled down three and finished the game with five boards.
The Mocs, who improved to 10-10 all-time in 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, committed 14 turnovers and blocked five shots. Benedict blocked six shots and held a 37-27 edge in points off the bench.
Blassage, Snow and Jacobs were joined on the South Regional All-Tournament Team by Nova Southeastern senior guard Monaye Merritt and Tampa senior guard Juliana Cavallaro.
Click here to the South Regional Tournament homepage
