Box Score TAMPA, FL - Gianna Vastola scored her 1,000th career point, and Florida Southern College women's basketball pulled away late for a 68-58 win over Tampa on Wednesday at the Martinez Center.
The Moccasins (17-7, 12-3 SSC) poured in 27 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Spartans (15-8, 10-5) and pick up their fifth-straight win to stay in the hunt for a Sunshine State Conference regular-season title.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Florida Southern drew first blood when Camille Giardina opened the game with three-pointer on the opening possession. The Moccasins would lead for almost the entire game, but Tampa was able to keep it close throughout.
• The Spartans struggled to scored in the early going, putting up just four points in the first seven minutes of play as the Moccasins raced out to an 11-4 lead. Tampa would scored four-straight to make it 11-8 after the first quarter.
• In the second quarter, Tampa was able to gain the lead on two occassions, but the Mocs answered with a late run to take a 27-25 lead into the locker room.
• The third quarter saw both teams trade jabs as the Mocs led by as many as five points in the early going before the Spartans whittled the lead to just one point (41-40) at the end of the third.
• Tampa would briefly regain the lead (42-41) at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Moccasins responded with a 17-8 run to take their largest lead of the game (59-48).
• The Spartans staged a late rally to cut the deficit to four points (60-56) with 42 seconds left, but the Mocs hit six free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win.
• Florida Southern hit 50.9 percent (27-of-53) of its shots, including 40.0 percent from three. The Mocs went 10-of-18 from the free-throw line and grabbed 33 rebounds.
• Tampa shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) on the night, but was just 4-of-19 from beyond the arc and 4-of-10 from the charity stripe. The Spartans snagged 28 rebounds.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Florida Southern improved to 60-35 all-time against Tampa, and have won two in a row when facing the Spartans on the road.
• Gianna Vastola ended the night with 14 points to bring her career total to 1,003. She scored 400 points as a freshman at the College of Coastal Georgia, and has tallied 603 during her time at Florida Southern. She surpassed 1,000 career points with a layup with 3:05 to go in the fourth quarter.
• Anissa Toumi led the Moccasins with 18 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Jensen Blassage and Camille Giardina each scored 10 points, while Anja Fuchs-Robetin scored eight points and snagged nine rebounds.
• The Moccasins finished with a 34-26 edge in points in the paint, and Florida Southern's bench outscored Tampa's bench 32-5.
UP NEXT
• Florida Southern returns home on Saturday to take on Lynn in the final regular-season home game. The Moccasins will honor their four seniors prior to the game as part of Senior Day festivities.
• The Moccasins wrap up the regular season on the road at Barry (Feb. 22) and Eckerd (Feb. 25) before playing in the SSC Tournament.
