WINTER PARK, Fla. - It was a historic night for
Marissa Jenike as the junior guard led Florida Southern College women's basketball to a 59-51 win over Rollins College in Sunshine State Conference action on Wednesday evening.
Jenike led the Moccasins (11-6,4-6 SSC) with 16 points and 10 rebounds, her first career double-double, going 4-11 from the three.
Arielle Dabu also contributed 16 points as the junior guard went 4-7 from deep and
Anna Denes led on the defensive end with eight boards. For the Tars (9-7,6-4 SSC), Faith Newton led the team with 13 points, followed by Maddie Dillinger with 12. Defensively, Aaliyah Irizarry-Perez had a team-high 12 rebounds.
FSC increased its win streak to two while owning an 8-1 record on the road. As a team the Mocs shot 34 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point range. The Tars shot 29 percent from the field and 27 from beyond the arc but both teams came away with 45 rebounds and 14 assists. Rollins edged the lead from the line shooting 75 percent going 6-8 from the free throw line.
Florida Southern and Rollins opened play with back-and-forth action until Dabu sank her second three of the night for a 10-9 score to start a run halfway through the first. Jenike finished the quarter all on her own going on an 8-6 run giving the Mocs an 18-15 lead.
In the second quarter, the Tars were able to tie at 20-all at 7:03 but was short-lived. FSC went on a 9-3 run behind scores by
Amari Jackson and Jenike, allowing the Mocs to jump out to an eight-point lead, the largest of the half. The Rollins offense tried to inch their way closer but FSC went into the half up by seven, 32-25.
Hot out of the locker room, FSC attacked first with a Dabu 3-pointer to make it a double-digit game, 35-25. The Tars continued to pressure the Mocs, coming within seven, but it started raining threes as Dabu, Jenike, and
Domenica Zamora all hit consecutive 3-pointers to earn an 11-point lead with just under two minutes in the third. Denes was fouled, sending the forward to the line to hit both shots, giving FSC the largest lead of the night, 48-35. Rollins cut back down FSC's lead but the Moccasins still headed into the final quarter with a 10-point advantage.
A Florida Southern scoring drought in the fourth allowed Rollins to come within two, as the clock was just under four minutes and the score read 51-49. With the Mocs feeling the pressure,
Sarah Lange and Zamora both hit shots in the paint to increase the Moccasin lead back to six. Lange and Zamora each hit free throws in the final minutes to solidify the 59-51 win.
Florida Southern concludes its three-game road streak Saturday as the Mocs head south to face Palm Beach Atlantic in a rematch. The tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
