Box Score TAMPA, Fla. – It took all 40 minutes but Florida Southern College women's basketball earned a 56-51 victory over No. 14 Tampa. With the victory, Moccasin Head Coach Betsy Harris claimed career win No. 200. The Mocs lead nearly the whole game as they rallied to hand the Spartans their first Sunshine State Conference loss of the 2019-20 season.
Senior Katerina Pazzaglia-Khomenko recorded a double-double in the victory as she totaled 15 points and brought down 12 rebounds. The Moccasin also saw junior Julia Jenike (14) and sophomore Mackenzie Steele (10) also record double-digit point totals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• 1st Quarter | The two teams would open the game in a close contest over the first five minutes as neither team would lead by more than two. Southern would take an 8-6 lead at the 4:33 mark of the first quarter, a lead they would not relinquish in the opening frame. FSC would take a 14-11 lead into the second quarter.
• 2nd Quarter | The Spartans opened the second quarter with a 4-0 run to take a one-point lead, 15-14 with 9:11 remaining in the second quarter. The Mocs would regain the lead as Pazzaglia-Khomenko drained a three-point shot at the 8:03 mark and less than a minute later would push the Mocs lead out to four. Pazzaglia-Khomenko put away both of her free throw attempts for 19-15 Mocs advantage. Jenike would go on a 6-0 run alone as she completed the three-point play and then drained a three from up top to make it a 25-17 Southern lead. Florida Southern would hold a lead of no less than four over the final three minutes to take a 29-25 lead into the halftime break. At the half, Jenike and Pazzaglia-Khomenko would combine for 19 of the Moccasins 29-first half points.
• 3rd Quarter | Southern quickly tacked on three points as sophomore Ashley Shell made a free throw and a layup to make it 32-25 in favor of the visitors. This would spark a 7-2 run for the Mocs over the first five minutes of the third quarter. Sophomore Mackenzie Steel would end nearly a three-minute scoreless drought for the visitors as she put away both of her free throw attempts for a 38-29 Moccasin lead. Pazzaglia-Khomenko would give the Mocs their first double-digit lead as she drained a three-point shot from the top of the key to make it a 41-31 Southern advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
• 4th Quarter | The Spartans opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to cut the Mocs lead to just two, 41-39. With 4:40 remaining the Spartans would send the Mocs leading scorer to the line to shoot two and Pazzaglia-Khomenko would nail both free throws to push the Mocs lead back to four. Tampa would take its next possession to the basket to make it a two-point game again with just over four minutes to go. The two teams would trade points as the Mocs would cling on to a two-point lead. With just under two minutes to go, the Spartans would us a pair of threes to tie the game at 51-51. Steele would put the Mocs up by two with 50 seconds to play as went to the line picked up points 52 and 53 for the visitors. Coach Harris would call her final timeout and just as she drew up it, the Spartans would send the Mocs back to the line and Pazzaglia-Khomenko would give the Mocs a four-point lead with 24.8 remaining on the clock. Jenike would clinch the victory for the Mocs as she put the visitors up 56-51 with no time on the clock. The Mocs would storm the court to celebrate handing No. 14 Tampa its first SSC loss of the season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The victory over No. 14 Tampa put the Mocs overall record against ranked opponents to 2-2, having previously beaten No. 25 Lindenwood back in December.
- Jenike scored 10 of her 14 points in the first half. She has now recorded 905 points in her college career, including her freshman year at Florida Atlantic. Jenike has now scored at least 20 points five times this season.
- Pazzaglia-Khomenko (15) and Steele (10) also scored at least ten points in the victory.
- Despite claiming the victory Southern was out-scored in the final quarter 20-15. FSC held a slight advantage over the Spartans as they brought down 36 rebounds to 32 by the home team. Pazzaglia-Khomenko led the Mocs with 12 rebounds including nine on the defensive end.
- Head Coach Betsy Harris earned her 200th career coaching victory. She has gone 132-49 in six seasons at Florida Southern, and was 68-27 in three seasons at Coastal Georgia, good for an overall record of 200-76. Harris' 132 wins at Florida Southern are third-best all-time among Moccasin head coaches, trailing only Norm Benn (250-97) and Diane Foli (170-93).
UP NEXT
Southern's regular season will come to an end as they head down to Palm Beach Atlantic for a 2 p.m. showdown with the Sailfish on February 29. Following the conclusion of all conference games on Saturday the SSC will announce matchups for the 2019-20 SSC tournament. All games will be hosted on the campus of the higher seed.
