The Florida Southern Mocs fell 65-70 to No. 16/18 Tampa Spartans on the road, dropping to 8-9 overall, but maintaining a winning record of 6-5 in SSC play.
The Spartans outscored the Mocs 24-10 in the final quarter to secure the victory and ensure their standing at the top of the conference.
"I thought we played hard and played well enough to win," said head coach
Betsy Harris. "We had some things not go our way in the fourth quarter and when that happens we have to hit our shots."
Whitney Jacob led the way for the Mocs with a game-leading 22 points while
Julia Jenike posted 19 points, shooting an incredible 75% from the three-point line, and grabbing six rebounds. They were joined in double-digit scoring by
Mackenzie Steele, with 13 points. The trio combined for an incredible 54 points.
The trio's impressive offensive would not have been possible without
Sara Wohlgemuth facilitating and dishing out a game-leading seven assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Late in the first half, the ladies went on a 13-2 run behind two three-pointers from Jacob, to tie the game up at 21 apiece. The Spartans and Mocs traded scores until time expired in the first half, with the Spartans leading 29-27.
In the second half, the Mocs came out hot, reclaiming the lead and even outscoring the Spartans by seven points. The Mocs continued their hot streak from the three-point line as Jacob and
Marissa Jenike both knocked down shots from deep. The hot shooting carried the Mocs to a 51-46 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Early in the fourth, Kayla Bonilla of Tampa knocked down a deep three to cut the Mocs lead to two. Steele answered with a crisp pass into the paint, leading to an easy lay-up for Jacob. The Spartans went on a run, extending their lead to five, which was answered by a smooth fade-away jumper from J. Jenike to bring the game within three points. The Spartans responded with a lay-up of their own to re-extend their lead to five.
With just under two minutes left,
Domenica Zamora drove into the paint, breaking Tampas defender, and laid it in, making the score 62-59. Yet again, the Spartans answered to bring their lead back to five. And then scored an additional four points off of free throws, bringing their lead to seven with only 30 seconds remaining in the game.
Fighting against the clock, J. Jenike knocked down a jumper with contact, to make the score 66-61, Spartans. Southern opted to foul and was fortunate to get a miss, keeping them in the game. In the next play Steele was fouled and came up clutch at the line, knocking down both shots. With less than 15 seconds remaining, J. Jenike drove down the court and broke several defenders for the lay-up. Unfortunately, the Mocs ran out of time, and ultimately fell 65-70, after a hard-fought game to a nationally ranked team.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Jacob start the game 6-of-7 from the three-point rank leading the scores with 22 points.
- Steele played all 40 minutes for the first time this season.
- Steele scored double-digits for the third time this year, and second in as many games with 13 points.
- Florida Southern committed just nine turnovers, a new season low.
- This marks the fourth consecutive meeting between these two teams deiced by five points or less.
UP NEXT
The ladies look to get back on track this Saturday, January 22nd, as they face the Barry for another SSC matchup at home at 5:30 PM.
