LAKELAND, Fla.- The Florida Southern women's basketball team will head to Ft. Lauderdale to play the fourth seed Nova Southeastern University for the Sunshine State Conference Quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m. at the Rick Case Arena.
The Mocs have earned the fifth seed in the conference bracket, finishing the regular season with a league record of 10-10 and 14-13 overall.
2023 SSC TOURNAMENT
#1 Tampa, #2 Eckerd, and #3 Lynn will also host quarterfinal contests this Tuesday. Game sites will be determined by the team with the higher seed for each contest. The semifinals will take place on March 2nd after the elimination of four teams. The final round will commence on March 5th, determining the SSC Champions for the 2023 season, as well as granting an automatic qualifier to the 2023 NCAA DII Championship.
Florida Southern previously won the SSC Championship in 2019 defeating Eckerd by one (61-60) and made it all the way to the NCAA South Regional Championship where the Mocs fell to Nova Southeastern. Last year, the Mocs finished as SSC Championship Runner-Up, losing to Tampa in overtime, 74-67.
2023 SSC CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
#1 Tampa will host #8 Saint Leo at 7 p.m. and the winner will face the victor of the FSC-Nova Southeastern matchup to be held at 5:30 p.m. On the other side of the bracket, #2 Eckerd will match up against #7 Embry-Riddle, likewise, #3 Lynn against #6 Barry. These matchups will also begin at 7 p.m.
FSC & Nova Southeastern
The Mocs will face the Nova Southeastern Sharks for the third time this season in the first round of SSC final play. The Mocs fell to the Sharks on Jan. 1, a close 67-78, and got their revenge a month later on Jan. 28 for a win, 66-58. Now the two teams will face off in the most important game of the season thus far, as the winner will proceed to the next round of SSC play.
The Nova Southeastern Sharks finished the regular season 13-7 in the SSC and 21-7 overall. They tied their overall record with Lynn University, who took the #3 seed above Nova due to a recent loss to Embry-Riddle on the Sharks' Senior Night. The Sharks are on a three-game losing streak while Florida Southern is entering the court confidently after a Senior Night win against Barry University with a 72-50 decision.
FSC'S POSTSEASON APPEARANCES
2023 marks
Megan Dzikas '12 inaugural season as Head Coach at her alma mater Florida Southern, following her time serving as Assistant Coach to Betsy Harris. Dzikas is assisted by
Vernisha Andrews in her second year with the Mocs.
The Mocs have diverse talent throughout the roster. Grad Student
Ashley Shell is a top-scorer for the Mocs, with a total of 373 points this season to date, 901 total career points, and averages 13.8 points per game. From Guayaquil, Ecuador, senior
Domenica Zamora is the second-leading scorer this season, totaling 271 points. She also leads the team on three-pointers made (48 on the season), averaging 11.3 points per game.
On the younger side of the roster, sophomore
Arielle Dabu transcends her standout freshman season by earning 268 points this season, adding to her career total of 403 points. She joins Zamora and Shell as the only players to achieve double-digit points per game average of 10.7. Sophomore
Marissa Jenike has earned almost 200 points on the season, following in the footsteps of her successful older sister,
Julia Jenike. Notable freshmen include
Sydney Gomes (163 points) and
Amari Jackson (83 points) who represent the future of the program's success.
