LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida Southern College Moccasins defeated the 12th/15th-ranked Eckerd College Tritons for the second time this season, 61-54, moving to 15-4 in the SSC, and extending their win streak to nine games.
The Mocs required overtime to defeat the Tritons, but for the second consecutive game, they came out victorious following the extra frame.
Whitney Jacob led all scorers with 18 points, while
Julia Jenike posted 12 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists, scoring the game-tying basket with five seconds remaining in regulation.
"This has been a long nine game stretch," said head coach
Betsy Harris. "We are trying so hard and I want it so bad for these kids, for us to get recognized and make it to regionals. I know we have done everything it takes we just have to get one more. Eckerd is a heck of team, with hard work comes luck and we got lucky they were missing some of their shots today."
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind by five points by the mid-point of the first quarter, the Mocs ended the first period of play on a 7-2 run. The teams ended the first quarter knotted at 11, as Jacob knocked down a pair of shots to lead the Mocs with four points while J. Jenike notched two assists. The team held the visiting Tritons to just five made field goals, as
Sara Wohlgemuth came down with three defensive rebounds in the opening frame.
In the second quarter, the Mocs' defense was nearly perfect, holding Eckerd to just eight points on 15 shots. Wohlgemuth gathered four points in the quarter, and eight different players came away with a rebound to limit any second-chance opportunities for Eckerd. The teams went into the halftime break, with the Mocs ahead, 20-19.
Both teams found their offense in the third quarter, as the Mocs scored 15 points, led by
Ashley Shell and
Mackenzie Steele. Shell scored six points in the quarter, while also coming away with two rebounds and two assists. Steele scored her first points of the game two minutes into the half, scoring on a lay-up before draining a three-pointer a few moments later. Eckerd led by as many as six points in the quarter, but Jacob cut the deficit to just four as the teams went into the fourth quarter with the Tritons ahead, 39-35.
The Moccasins battled back in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to one with just over seven minutes to play as Jenike completed a three-point play to make the score 41-40. After a series of defensive stops from both sides, Wohlgemuth would tie the game at 44 on a made free throw with three minutes to play. The Tritons emerged on a five-point run to reclaim the lead before
Domenica Zamora drained a three-pointer with 49 seconds remaining to cut the lead back to just one score, 50-48. On the ensuing possession, Eckerd was called for a traveling violation, giving the Mocs possession with under 30 seconds remaining, and the shot clock turned off. Jacob corralled a loose ball and found Jenike in the paint, who scored the contested lay-up, tying the game at 50 with 5.2 seconds left. The Tritons missed an open 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Moccasins required overtime for the second consecutive game.
OVERTIME
The Tritons won the tip-off to begin the extra frame, and a missed 3-pointer resulted in Moccasin possession after Wohlgemuth battled for the loose ball, forcing a jump ball.
Madlena Gerke scored the first points of overtime, scoring a mid-range shot to put the Mocs up by two. Gerke would then draw an offensive foul before gathering a defensive rebound to set the tone in overtime.
With just under three minutes to play, Eckerd tied the game on a lay-up, then took the lead momentarily. Jacob posted up and scored to reclaim the lead before stealing the ball on the ensuing defensive possession. She wound up drawing a foul with 1:26 to play, hitting the first free throw to put the Mocs up by three. Although she missed the second, Jenike and Steele combined for an impressive offensive rebound, which Jenike converted into another basket, and a five-point lead with one minute to play in overtime. Jacob would head back to the free-throw line roughly ten seconds later, hitting both shots to put Florida Southern up 59-52. Zamora made both of her free throws with 35 seconds to go to give Florida Southern a 61-54 lead that stood until the scoreboard showed double zeroes.
UP NEXT
The Moccasins have one final regular season game left on the schedule, on Wednesday, Feb. 23, when they host Embry-Riddle on senior day.
