LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Southern women's basketball hosts the 2022 Mocs Christmas Classic on Dec. 16-17 at Streamline Sale Court inside the George W. Jenkins Field House. The Moccasins will host Sunshine State Conference foe Eckerd College, as well as Drury University and Truman State University.
The four teams converge on the center court before the start of their Christmas break with two games Friday and two games Saturday. Eckerd and Drury get things started at 12:00 p.m. before the Mocs take on the Bulldogs of Truman State University at 2:00 p.m. The following day, Dec. 17, the Tritons and Bulldogs battle at 12:00 p.m. while the Mocs and Panthers close the classic for the women at 2:00 p.m. With the men opening their portion of the Classic at 5:30 p.m.
2022 Mocs
Christmas Classic
December 16-17, 2022 |
George W. Jenkins Field House
111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive
Lakeland, Florida |
|
| Friday, December 16, 2022 |
| 12:00 PM |
Eckerd vs Drury |
Stats | Video |
| 2:00 PM |
Truman State vs Florida Southern |
Stats | Video |
| Saturday, December 17, 2022 |
| 12:00 PM |
Eckerd vs Truman State |
Stats | Video |
| 2:00 PM |
Drury vs Florida Southern |
Stats | Video |
Florida Southern College (7-2)
Florida Southern is off to its best start since the 2018-19 season when the Mocs set a record with 30 victories, winning both SSC titles and appearing in the NCAA DII South Regional Championship game. The Mocs are currently on a two-game win streak as they defeated back-to-back SSC opponents on the road. First was Barry University in a 69-57 decision, followed by Florida Tech this past weekend defeating the Panthers 72-48.
As a team, Florida Southern averages 74.8 points per game and holds opponents to 61.1 (+13.7 margin). From the field, the Mocs shoot .431 including .409 from beyond the arc while posting a .817 clip from the free throw line. Graduate student
Ashley Shell leads the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game, 135 on the year, while senior
Domenica Zamora is second in scoring with 13.7 ppg, 96 on the year. Shell is the team leader in rebounding, averaging 7.2 per game, 65 through nine games.
Sophomore
Arielle Dabu is averaging double-digit points with 10.7 ppg and is third in boards with 5.0 rpg. Sophomore
Anna Denes is sitting second for the Mocs in rebounds coming down with 48 boards for an average of 5.3 rpg.
Zamora earned SSC Defensive Player of the Week following her performance in FSC's trip to Puerto Rico. The Ecuadorian tallied nine steals, six defensive rebounds, and a block in a 75-51 win against UPR Rio Piedras. The senior followed with 10 defensive rebounds and three steals in an 82-46 victory against UPR Mayaguez. Offensively, Zamora provided the Moccasins with 20 points and 11 assists on the Island of Enchantment.
#5/9 Drury University (9-1)
Drury travels to Lakeland on a five-game win streak after opening the year 4-1 with it's only loss coming against #3 Ashland in overtime with a 68-67 decision. In the past week the Panthers notched wins over the University of Science and Arts, 95-60, and Quincy, 77-55, both of which were played at home.
The Panthers as a squad average 78.8 points per game and allow opponents to score an average of 57.2 a game. Drury shoots .460 from the field including a .393 clip from downtown and .717 from the free throw line.
The Panthers have three players who average double-digits with Kaylee DaMitz-Holt the leader at 16.6 ppg, just ahead of Alana Findley at 14.4 ppg. Terrion Moore is averaging 11.6 ppg to round off the double-digit scoring for Drury. Moore is the team leader in rebounding, hauling in an average of 5.6 boards per game with Findley just behind with 5.5 rpg.
Truman State University (7-4)
Truman State heads to Lakeland on a one-game losing streak, moving to 7-4 on the year. The Bulldogs just saw their five-game win streak snapped with their first conference loss to Southwest Baptist 72-59 over the weekend. Prior to the loss, Truman State defeated four conference opponents in McKendree (79-72), Indianapolis (86-75), Lewis 71-65, and Illinois Springfield (86-79).
Overall, the Bulldogs average 78.6 points a game while holding their opponents to 76.7 points. The Bulldogs shoots .459 from the field including .358 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs shoot .729 from the charity stripe.
Hannah Belanger leads a duo of double-digit average scorers with 22.0 points a game, through 11 games, with 242 total points this season. Belanger is shooting 84-of-176 from the field and has contributed 34 total assists, Ellie Weltha is second on the team in scoring with 16.4 ppg while leading the team in rebounds coming down with 111 boards for an average of 10.1.
#8/14 Eckerd College (8-1)
Eckerd currently sits atop the SSC standings with a 4-0 conference record, and 8-1 overall, with three wins over nationally ranked opponents.
This week, the Tritons swept SSC Player of the Week awards in women's basketball. Maya Price was named SSC Player of the Week, as she tallied a double-double in the Tritons' 81-62 win over Saint Leo. She scored 18 points, shooting 8-13 (61.5%) from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line. She recorded a career-high 17 rebounds in the game while adding a game-high four blocks and another two steals in the win. This was her second SSC Weekly Award this season.
Sofia Persson was named SSC Defensive Player of the Week, where she tallied five steals and eight defensive rebounds in the victory over the Lions. She added 16 points and five assists offensively.
Maya Price currently sits at 114 career blocks, second in program history. She is four blocks away from becoming the new program record-holder in blocks, set by Cammie Maki (117) back in 1990. Price is tied for fifth overall in the country in blocks per game at 2.44, and seventh overall in blocks, with 22. Lauryn Vieira leads the SSC in assists and assists per game, with 67 and 7.4 respectively. She ranks third in the nation in assists per game, and fourth in the nation in assists.
