Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. - It was almost the upset of the year in NCAA Division II women's basketball as Florida Southern College almost knocked off No. 1 Drury, but ultimately fell 72-68, on the final day of the Terrace Hotel Classic at Streamline Sale Arena at Jenkins Field House. The Moccasins (6-6) held a one-point lead midway through the third quarter, but the Panthers (10-0) used an 8-0 run to regain momentum and win a tight one to remain perfect.
Four different Mocs scored in double figures and Katerina Pazzaglia-Khomenko tallied a double-double off the bench, but Drury hit big shots down the stretch and got 29 points off turnovers to come away with the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- 1st Quarter | The Panthers looked every bit the nation's top team as they raced out to a 7-0 just four minutes into action and held the Moccasins without a point until Julia Jenike connected on a jumper at the 5:40 mark of the opening quarter to score Southern's first bucket. Drury was able to build a 17-9 lead with 2:32 left in the first and went into the second period with a nine-point lead (22-13).
- 2nd Quarter | Florida Southern looked as if it was in trouble early in the second quarter as the Panthers grabbed a 14-point lead (27-13) when Emily Parker hit a layup with 8:25 to go in the first half. Trailing by 11 (35-24) with 2:27 left in the second quarter, the Mocs would reel off eight-straight points to pull within three (35-32) at the half. Pazzaglia-Khomenko scored four of Southern's eight points during the run, while Jenike nailed a pair of free throws and Mackenzie Steele hit a layup to get the Mocs back into contention.
- 3rd Quarter | The Moccasin defense was strong to start the second half as it held Drury to just four points in the first five minutes of the second half, and scored eight points during that stretch to take a 40-39 lead on Kaja Wroblewska's layup with 5:37 left in the third. Drury responded with an 8-0 run to take a 47-40 lead with 3:11 on the clock, but the Mocs stayed within striking distance and trailed by just five (54-49) at the end of three.
- 4th Quarter | In the fourth quarter, the teams would trade blows until Drury got some separation by snagging a nine-point advantage (66-57) with just under four minutes to play. But Florida Southern mounted one final run and tallied seven-straight points to pull within a bucket (66-64) when Elsa Landberg connected from long range with 2:05 left to play. The Panthers answered with a quick 4-0 run to go back up by six and hit all four of their free-throw attempts in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.
- The Moccasins shot 44.9 percent (22-of-49) from the floor and were 21-of-25 at the free-throw line, while Drury hit 45.6 percent of its shots (26-of-57) and nailed 15-of-16 free-throw attempts. Pazzaglia-Khomenko finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Jenike (13), Ashley Shell (13), and Steele (12) all scored in double figures.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Florida Southern fell to 0-1 all-time against Drury. It was the first time that the Mocs have faced the nation's No. 1 team since narrowly falling to Lubbock Christian (73-69) in the 2016 NCAA Elite Eight.
- The Moccasins limited the reigning Division II Player of the Year, Hailey Diestelkamp, to just 13 points and two rebounds. In addition, Florida Southern outscored the Panthers 22-8 in second-chance points and outrebounded Drury by a 35-27 margin.
- Southern finishes its non-conference slate with a record of 3-5, which included games against three ranked teams in Drury, No. 14 Lee (L, 55-43), and No. 25 Lindenwood (W, 94-90).
UP NEXT
- The Moccasins are off until after the holidays when they jump back into Sunshine State Conference action at Florida Tech (Jan. 2). After the trip to Melbourne, Florida Southern will host Nova Southeastern (Jan. 4) before back-to-back road games at Rollins (Jan. 8) and Eckerd (Jan. 15).
