Box Score LAKELAND, FL - Florida Southern College women's basketball rolled to a 91-55 victory over Saint Leo in the quarterfinal round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament on Wednesday at Jenkins Field House.
The Moccasins (20-8) entered the game as the No. 2 seed, while the Lions (9-18) earned the No. 7 seed. With the victory, Florida Southern advances to the SSC semifinals, where it will face Florida Tech at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at the ICI Center in Daytona Beach.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Leo looked as if it might challenge the Moccasins, jumping out to an 8-5 lead with 5:53 to go in the first quarter, but Florida Southern held the Lions to just six points for the rest of the quarter and built a 22-14 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
• The Mocs saw their lead whittle down to six points (24-18) at the beginning of the second quarter, but used a 15-2 run to blow the game wide open and take a 39-20 lead with 3:30 to go in the first half. Anissa Toumi's layup with 32 seconds on the clock sent the Moccasins to the locker room with a 47-26 lead.
• Florida Southern would continue to pour it on in the second half, leading by as many as 34 points in the third quarter as it outscored Saint Leo 24-15 in the third. The Mocs held their largest lead of the game (89-50) with 2:32 to go in the game to move on to the SSC semifinals in convincing fashion.
• The Moccasins shot 46.2 percent from the floor, including 42.1 percent from beyond the arc, and connected on 23-of-26 free-throw attempts. Saint Leo shot 42.0 percent from the floor, but was just 4-of-17 from long range and 9-of-16 at the charity stripe.
• Florida Southern finished with a 39-32 edge in rebounds, dished out 11 assists on 30 made buckets, and forced 29 turnovers by the Lions.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Florida Southern improved to 76-10 all-time against Saint Leo and picked up their seventh-straight win against the Lions. The Moccasins moved to 7-0 when facing Saint Leo in the SSC Tournament, and improved to 44-24 all-time in the conference tourney.
• Camille Giardina led the Moccasins with 21 points while Anja Fuchs-Robetin scored 18 and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Giardina hit 4-of-5 three-pointers and also dished out three assists.
• Gianna Vastola added 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench while Anissa Toumi scored 13 points and snagged six boards.
• Florida Southern scored 29 points off turnovers, 26 point in the paint, 16 second-chance points and six fast break points. The Moccasin bench poured in 24 points to Saint Leo's 15.
UP NEXT
• Florida Southern will face Florida Tech in the SSC Tournament semifinals on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the ICI Center in Daytona Beach. The Panthers knocked the Moccasins out of last year's conference tournament in the semifinals, grabbing a 71-62 win.
• Saturday's winner will advance to the SSC Tournament title game, where it will face either Eckerd or Tampa for the right to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
