Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Junior forward Julia Jenike scored eleven points in the first quarter for the Florida Southern College women's basketball team, but it was not enough, as host Eckerd College defeated the Mocs, 68-56, in Sunshine State Conference action on Wednesday night.
Jenike added six rebounds, while sophomore Mackenzie Steele added 14 points and three rebounds in the losing effort. FSC is now 9-7 overall, and 6-2 in the Sunshine State Conference, while Eckerd improves to 10-4, and 6-2 in the SSC.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• 1st Quarter | Florida Southern opened the game strong, jumping out to a quick 7-2 lead, as Steele, senior Katerina Pazzaglia-Khomenko, and sophomore Bekki Kalaydjiev all made buckets. After the media timeout, with the Mocs trailing by one, Jenike found her stroke, scoring nine straight points for Southern in just over a two-minute span. Her final basket of the quarter were the final points in the quarter, on a layup with 54 seconds remaining as the Mocs led, 24-19.
• 2nd Quarter | The Mocs cooled down in the second stanza, with shots not falling as frequently. The host Tritons opened the quarter on a 6-0 run, before Steele's three-pointer made the score 27-25, in favor of the Red and White. Eckerd responded with another 6-0 run, until Kalaydjiev made a three to stop that run. A final 7-2 run for the hosts gave them a 38-32 lead at the intermission.
• 3rd Quarter | Florida Southern had trouble finding shots in the third quarter due to a stalwart Eckerd defense, as the Tritons quickly built a 14-point lead. With 3:04 remaining, sophomore Ashley Shell made her third and fourth points of the quarter to bring the Mocs to back within 10, at 50-40. Eckerd would keep the lead in double digits the rest of the stanza, taking a 58-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
• 4th Quarter | The lead stayed in double figures for most of the quarter, until Steele sent home a three-pointer at 3:01, trimming the lead to eight, 61-53. The Mocs would get no closer, falling 68-56.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• After shooting 64.3% in the first quarter, making nine shots on 14 attempts, the Mocs shot just 26.8% the rest of the way, 11 for 41.
• FSC made 11 three-pointers on the evening, compared Eckerd's nine.
• From the free throw line, Southern made five of six shots. Eckerd converted 13 of their 22 attempts.
• The Tritons held a 39-19 edge on the boards.
• Kalaydjiev had a balanced night statistically, with eight points, five rebounds, and five steals.
UP NEXT
• Florida Southern will return to the Jenkins Field House to open a three-game homestand, for a 5:30 p.m. meeting with Barry on Saturday, January 18. At halftime of that game, Florida Southern will recognize the 25th anniversary of the 1994-95 Elite Eight team.
