ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Graduate Student
Ashley Shell's 21 points were not enough for the Florida Southern College women's basketball team as they fell on the road to No. 8/9 Eckerd College in a Sunshine State Conference rematch on Wednesday evening, with a 73-68 final.
Florida Southern is now 12-9 overall and 8-6 in SSC play.
The first quarter was a lot of back-and-forth basketball for the two teams. The Tritons had a slight, five-point edge with under a minute remaining but sophomore
Marissa Jenike knocked down a jumper in the final seconds of the frame to make it a one-possession game,20- 17.
In the second quarter, it was more of the same back-and-forth with a lot of scrappy basketball as both teams got into foul trouble near the end of the first half. Eckerd was hitting free throws which granted them the edge going into the locker room, with a slight 35-31 lead.
Sophomore
Arielle Dabu kicked off the second half with a second chance three in response to an and-1 layup from the Tritons. Dabu's shot got things rolling for the Mocs as sophomore
Anna Denes and senior
Domenica Zamora both nailed three's a few possessions later. All the while, Shell was racking up points in the paint as she had eight in the quarter. The Tritons seemed to have an answer for everything the Mocs did and managed to take the lead going into the final quarter, 54-52.
With 2:51 remaining in the fourth quarter, Shell came up big with a deep two-point baseline jumper to make it 69- 66 and keep the Mocs in the game. Then, on a Triton's possession, junior
Maria Llorente knocked the ball free allowing Shell to grab it and secure the turnover. On the other end, Shell backed down an Eckerd defender in the paint and got the bucket to make it a one-point game with two minutes remaining. The Tritons answered with a layup and then a pair of free throws to extend their lead back to five. In the final minute, Florida Southern had a chance on the offensive end but it went begging and the Tritons took the victory.
In addition to her 21 points, Shell added six rebounds and three assists. She was joined in double-digit scoring by Denes and Dabu with 14 and 10, respectively.
UP NEXT
The Mocs are back on the road to take on Lynn University this Saturday, February 4 in Boca Raton, Fla. at the de Hoernle Sports and Cultural Center. The tip-off is set for 2:00 PM.
