LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida Southern College women's basketball team squared off against Saint Leo University in a hard-fought contest that saw the Moccasins fall, 71-59 after a late run from the Lions.
Florida Southern moves to 13-13 overall and 9-10 in the Sunshine State Conference play.
The game began as a very tight contest between two conference competitors. Graduate Student
Ashley Shell and sophomore
Arielle Dabu kicked things off for the Mocs in the first quarter as Shell dominated the paint putting up 10 points in the first seven minutes of the game. Dabu shot 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the frame, but the Mocs struggled to find their groove defensively and trailed 20-19 going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the two teams played a lot of back-and-forth, but the Mocs tightened up their defense and secured a 34-32 lead going into the locker room at the half.
After a slow start to the second half, senior
Domenica Zamora drilled a three with 5:22 left in the third quarter to reclaim the lead, 40-38. Later in the quarter, with just under two minutes remaining Dabu drained another three to make it 44-43, in favor of the Mocs. After a few more solid offensive possessions, the Mocs led 48-45 going into the final quarter.
The Lions got a jump on the Mocs in the final quarter taking a 55-50 lead with seven minutes of play remaining. Sophomore
Marissa Jenike responded with consecutive layups to bring the Mocs within one, and make it 55-54. Saint Leo clapped right back with two buckets of their own to which junior
Maria Llorente answered with a three to bring the Mocs back within two, 59- 57. The Lions proceeded to go on an 11-point run to secure the victory over the Mocs.
Shell was the leading scorer and rebounder for the Mocs. The Deerfield Beach, Florida native scored 18 points and secured nine rebounds, while Dabu joined Shell in double-digit scoring with 12. All of her points were scored from beyond the three-point line as she shot an impressive 50% from deep. Llorente contributed nine points and Jenike contributed eight.
UP NEXT
Florida Southern will host Barry University on Saturday, February 25 to close out the SSC regular-season play. The tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. with the ceremony starting beforehand in George W. Jenkins Field House.
