Box Score LAKELAND, FL - Florida Southern College women's basketball lost to Rollins in heartbreaking fashion in a 65-63 defeat in Sunshine State Conference action on Wednesday at Jenkins Field House.
The visiting Tars (12-6, 7-4 SSC) hit a jumper with three seconds to play to break a late tie, and the Moccasins (12-6, 8-2) were unable to convert a pair of late free throws as Rollins broke a four-game losing streak to Florida Southern.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Florida Southern fell into an early hole as Rollins raced out to a 17-9 lead late in the first quarter, but the Mocs would finish the quarter with an 11-2 run to grab a 20-19 lead after the opening period of play.
• The second quarter would have a massive impact on the outcome, as the Moccasins were held to just eight points on 4-of-12 shooting as the Tars took an eight-point lead (36-28) into the locker room.
• Rollins shot 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from the floor in the second quarter, including a perfect 3-of-3 from long range and 2-of-2 at the charity stripe. In the first half, the Mocs shot just 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) while the Tars shot 14-of-25 (56.0 percent).
• The Tars pushed their lead to nine points (39-30) early in the third quarter, but Florida Southern mounted a furious rally to take a 47-45 lead with 1:13 left before Rollins hit a pair of free throws to make it 47-47 after three quarters of play.
• Trailing by three points (63-60) with 17 seconds to play, Anja Fuchs-Robetin hit a layup, drew the foul, and knocked down the ensuing free throw to tie the game up, but the Tars responded with a go-ahead jumper with three ticks left.
• Florida Southern drew a foul on the game's final possession, but Jensen Blassage missed the first of two free throws with 0.3 on the clock, and the Mocs were unable to get the tip-in on the intentional miss on the second free-throw attempt.
• The Moccasins finished the game shooting 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the floor, but went just 4-of-16 from beyond the arc. Rollins connected on 50.0 percent (25-of-50) of its shots, and went 7-of-10 from long range.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Florida Southern fell to 49-45 all-time against Rollins, including 25-14 at home. The Moccasins also dropped to 411-149 all-time at home, including 32-8 under head coach Betsy Harris.
• Theresa Mac-Dangosu led the Mocs with a season-high 16 points on 5-of-8 from the floor. She also connected on 6-of-7 free-throw attempts and grabbed three rebounds.
• Jensen Blassage and Gianna Vastola each finished with 14 points and snagged four boards, while Elsa Landberg dished out a game-high seven assists.
• Vastola is now just 46 points away from 1,000 career points. She has scored 555 in three seasons at Florida Southern, and had 399 as a freshman at the College of Coastal Georgia.
• Rollins finished with a 36-27 edge in rebounds, but the teams were an even 20-20 in points in the paint. Florida Southern outscored the Tars 21-7 in points off turnovers.
UP NEXT
• Florida Southern will face Nova Southeastern at home on Saturday before traveling to Saint Leo on Feb. 1. The Moccasins have four home games remaining.
