HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Florida Southern College women's basketball team opens up the 2023-24 season 2-0 for the first time since 2018, which was the last time the Moccasins (2-0, 0-0 SSC) beat No.21/22 Lee University. FSC concluded the final day of the Sunshine State Conference/Gulf South Conference Crossover with a huge win, taking down the ranked Flames (0-2, 0-0 GSC) 76-64 on Saturday afternoon.
The Mocs were led by junior center
Sarah Lange with 17 points and seven rebounds. Junior guard
Marissa Jenike finished with 13 points, going 3-for-8 from beyond the arch, followed by junior forward
Anna Denes with 11 points and seven rebounds. From the bench, sophomore forward
Amari Jackson contributed 10 points and five boards.
At the eight-minute mark, Lange got the scoring started by hitting the second free throw after a foul to put FSC up 1-0. The Mocs continued to put the pressure on the Flames as point guard
Domenica Zamora found Jenike sinking a 3-pointer for a 4-0 lead.
Lee scored at the 5:39 mark with a jumper in the paint to make it 4-2, but Jenike took it to the paint with a layup, taking back the four-point lead with 4:46 remaining in the first quarter. The Mocs increased its lead to a six-point lead as Jackson went in for two.
The Flames were able to come within one point of the Mocs, but junior point guard
Arriyana Bracero battled her way to the paint for a layup to make it 10-7 with 2:41 remaining. Lee was able to come within one point again, but FSC went on an 8-2 run, finishing the quarter with an 18-11 lead.
In the second quarter, the Mocs never let up the pressure, outscoring the Flames 24-14, going 11-for-19 from the field. Jenike led the Mocs in the second quarter with eight points, going 2-for-3 from beyond the arch. Just like the first quarter, FSC opened up the scoring as Denes scored on a layup with 8:30 remaining in the half. From there, the Mocs went on a seven-point run to make it 27-14 with 5:23 on the clock. The Mocs put up another 15 points and headed into the locker with a 42-25 advantage.
Coming out of halftime, FSC opened up the scoring, as Lange hit a layup at 9:36. Denes scored two, getting fouled on the way up for an and one to make it 51-27 with 7:23 remaining in the quarter. The Flames picked up their momentum, battling with the Mocs going back-and-forth scoring to end the rally with an
Arielle Dabu 3-pointer to make it 58-34 with just under six minutes remaining.
At 4:52, Zamora sank her first shot beyond the arch and followed with a second 3-pointer to increase FSC's lead to 64-36. The teams went on a two-minute scoring drought that ended with Lee getting fouled and making both free throws with 2 minutes remaining in the third. The free throws would start the scoring for the Flames, ending the quarter with a 10-0 run.
The final quarter started the same as the ones before, as the Mocs scored first with a Denes layup to open the quarter with a 20-point lead, 66-46. Lee went on a run toward the end of the quarter to cut the lead down to 12 points, but it was not enough as the Mocs continued to fight, never letting go of the lead. Florida Southern returns to Florida 2-0 after taking down the University of Alabama-Huntsville 55-49 on day one of the GSC/SSC Crossover and No. 21/22 Lee University on the final day, 76-64.
FSC looks ahead to the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras on Nov. 21 after 10 days. The tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 at the George W. Jenkins Field House.
