Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College women's basketball team won its third consecutive game on Saturday night, besting Sunshine State Conference rival Embry-Riddle, 81-52. The Mocs (13-8, 10-3 SSC) will remain in second place in the 11-team league.
Five different Mocs scored in double figures, led by junior forward Julia Jenike, who had 18. Classmate Marta Aranda poured in a career-high 13 points, while freshman forward Kaja Wroblewska scored 12, sophomore guard Mackenzie Steele scored 11, and senior forward Katerina Pazzaglia-Khomenko recorded ten.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• 1st Quarter | Florida Southern took its first lead of the game at the 8:34 mark, as Pazzaglia-Khomenko made a fast break layup after a steal by sophomore guard Bekki Kalaydjiev. The Southern lead would expand to as many as five points in the first quarter, when Aranda drained a three pointer with just 16 seconds to play. After the first ten minutes, the Mocs would led 17-15, as Aranda already had eight points.
• 2nd Quarter | Both teams made shots, though the Mocs never trailed. With the score tied at 22, Southern got hot, scoring the game's next 11 points. Jenike and Aranda made threes on back-to-back possessions, followed by a layup from sophomore Ashley Shell, and a traditional three-point play by Wroblewska. After a basket by Embry-Riddle, Southern rattled off another seven straight points to take a commanding 40-24 lead into the break. In the second quarter, the Mocs held the Eagles to just three field goals on nine shots, while forcing seven turnovers.
• 3rd Quarter | The Mocs came out prepared after halftime, and began the third quarter on another 7-0 run, capped by a pair of free throws by Steele that pushed the lead to 23 points, 47-24. The lead hovered around the 20-point mark for the rest of the quarter, with the score 58-40 after three.
• 4th Quarter | Once again, the Mocs came out strong, scoring the first eight points of the fourth quarter, building the lead to 66-40. The lead would reach the 30-point plateau moments later, when Pazzaglia-Khomenko made a layup with 4:06 remaining. The largest lead of the game would come with just 1:19 to play, when freshman forward Anna Keene drained a mid-range jumper. ERAU would score the game's final four points for the 81-52 final.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• In all, nine different Southern players scored in tonight's game. The 81 team points is the fourth highest total this season. It is the highest total since the Mocs dropped 94 in a win over then-No.25 Lindenwood on December 19.
• Embry-Riddle led for only 19 seconds tonight. Once Southern took the lead at the 8:34 mark of the first quarter, FSC never relinquished it.
• For the game, Southern made 30 baskets of 58 shots, 51.7%. Embry-Riddle made just 18 baskets on 43 shots, 41.9%.
• The Mocs forced Embry-Riddle into 22 turnovers, resulting in 27 points. Southern also grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, allowing for an additional 13 points.
UP NEXT
Southern will take to the road after tonight, travelling to face Lynn on Wednesday night. Afterwards, it's back to the Jenkins Field House for games against Florida Tech (Feb. 8) and Rollins (Feb. 12).
