LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida Southern College women's basketball team looked to get back to their winning ways but fell just short in the final seconds to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 64-62 in Sunshine State Conference action on Saturday evening in Jenkins Field House.
The Moccasins (5-2, 0-2 SSC) and the Eagles (6-1, 1-0 SSC) saw 11 lead changes and 13 total ties throughout the contest.
Sarah Lange opened up the scoring for the Mocs with a layup early to get FSC up to a 2-0 lead. Embry-Riddle and FSC continued to go back and forth with six ties in the first quarter. The quarter ended with a 15-15 tie going into the second quarter. The Eagles went on a 6-0 run to start the quarter, making the Mocs have to work back from a 21-17 deficit.
Anna Denes started the second quarter scoring for FSC with a layup, and
Sydney Gomes followed with back-to-back layups to tie the game 21-21 with 4:38 remaining in the quarter. Embry-Riddle regained the lead, going into the locker room 27-25, making FSC battle back after the break.
Out of the half, the Mocs came out on fire as Denes tied the game with a layup and
Arriyana Bracero gave FSC a 29-27 lead with a jumper at 9:10. It was back-and-forth action until
Arielle Dabu gave the Mocs momentum with a layup to take a 2-point lead, 38-36. Gomes increased the lead to four on a fastbreak layup, and Lange hit both free throws, giving FSC its biggest lead thus far with a 42-36 lead. Gomes and
Amari Jackson kept the Mocs lead at six, with a layup and two jumpers for Jackson to end the quarter with a 48-42 lead.
To open up the final quarter, FSC increased its lead to nine thanks to a Dabu shot beyond the arch to make it 53-44 and under nine minutes in regulations. The Eagles rallied back to tie the game at 56 before taking the lead with 3:03 remaining. Dabu hit a 3-pointer at 2:19 to take back the Mocs lead, 59-58. With twenty-five seconds remaining in the game, the Eagles took a 3-point lead but Dabu hit her third 3-pointer of the night with 17 seconds left to tie the game up 62-62. With five seconds remaining, Embry-Riddle's Madyson Jean-Louis made a jumper to take the lead. Out of the final timeout, Mocs had four seconds and Gomes went for the win with a shot beyond the arc that fell just short at the buzzer.
Dabu led the Mocs with 14 points, followed by Gomes, Lange, and Jackson with 10 points each. On the defensive end, Denes finished with seven rebounds and three blocks, and Dabu with five boards.
The Mocs will take a week off from action before traveling to St. Petersburg, where they will face Eckerd College in another SSC matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
