JACKSON, Tenn. - Florida Southern College women's basketball saw its season come to an end at the NCAA DII South Regional Quarterfinals on Friday evening. Battling Eckerd for the fourth time this season, the Moccasins fell to the Tritons 69-64 in Fred DeLay Gymnasium.
The Mocs, 20-10, were led by graduate students
Julia Jenike and
Whitney Jacob, as Jenike had 18 points followed by Jacob with 13. SSC Freshman of the Year
Sara Wohlgemuth had a late shot from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points.
"I knew it would be a tough game, we have played them four times and it would be hard to beat them a fourth," said head coach Betsy Harris. "Eckerd is a good team and we showed great effort. Some things just didn't go our way. We waited two years for this and we really wanted to make it to the elite eight. Julia and Whitney are great players, but they are better people than they are players and they should tell you a lot about them."
HOW IT HAPPENED
FSC was off to a hot start as the Mocs opened up the game on a 12-2 run in the first quarter, taking an early lead to start the first half. Florida Southern finished with a 10-point advantage heading into the second quarter.
Freshman
Marissa Jenike came off the bench firing back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup to make it 31-24 with 4:23 remaining in the opening half. Eckerd rallied back in the second quarter to enter halftime with a 35-32 point deficit.
The Tritons took the lead at the 8:04 mark in the third with a layup to make it 38-36 with plenty of game left before holding a four-point lead, 49-45, at the end of the third.
Jacob went on a run late in the fourth to bring the Mocs within three and make it 55-52 with 6:05 remaining. Jenike was fouled, sending her to the free-throw line to make it 55-54, draining both shots.
Mackenzie Steele drained a 3-pointer of her own to make the score 59-57 with under three minutes left in regulation. Jenike hit a jumper in the paint to tie the game, but Eckerd hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to take a 64-59 lead with 1:03 remaining on the clock.
Wohlgemuth hit a late layup followed by a shot beyond the arc to close out the South Regional tournament but it was Sunshine State Conference foe, Eckerd, that advanced to the next round with a final score of 69-64.
