LAKELAND, Fla.- The Florida Southern College women's basketball team went head to head with Embry-Riddle this Saturday, just falling short with a 57-51 final against their Sunshine State Conference opponent.
The Moccasins fall to 13-12 overall and 9-9 in SSC play.
After a slow start in the first quarter, sophomore
Anna Denes and freshman
Amari Jackson stirred up the momentum, scoring all the Mocs points from the paint and free throw line. Jackson, the freshman out of Gainesville, Florida, finished the game with a season-high of thirteen points in twenty-six minutes of play time.
The second quarter was the strongest for the Mocs, with both teams racking up twelve points each, with points generated by sophomore
Marissa Jenike sinking back-to-back threes to put FSC up by one. Jackson hit a jumper to close the gap to seven points and junior
Maria Llorente and Jackson made it 22-19 going into the locker with the Mocs down by three.
Both teams emerged from halftime hot and eager to contend for the win. The lead shifted twice between teams, but the Eagles wrapped up the third quarter with two three-pointers with under a minute left on the clock, to make it 39-34.
The fourth quarter was a hard-fought game by both teams. Florida Southern was productive in securing free throws, most frequently awarded to sophomore
Arielle Dabu, the second-highest scorer of the game with 10 points. The Mocs defense also had a strong last quarter, coming away with four steals in the last five minutes of play. Unfortunately, this was not enough to hold back the Eagles who resolved not to be on the losing end of another close game with the Mocs.
The Mocs let the Eagles run away with their 51-50 lead with 2:20 left on the clock, followed by an unanswered seven-point stretch for the Eagles, ending the game 57-51.
Jackson led the way for FSC on both ends of the court earning a new career-high of 13 points and coming down with eight boards. Denes also finished with eight boards defensively and eight points.
UP NEXT
The Mocs will travel to play Saint Leo at the Marion Bowman Activities Center in Saint Leo, Florida on Wednesday, February 22nd. The tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
