WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Florida Southern women's basketball team traveled to Palm Beach Atlantic University on Saturday and came up just short falling 61-56 in the final minute of action.
Domenica Zamora hit a milestone in her career scoring her 1,000th career point as the graduate student led the Moccasins (11-7, 4-7 SSC) with 17 points. Zamora's 1,000 points come from two years at St. Petersburg College where she scored 524 points during her time there and currently has 487 points at FSC.
Amari Jackson finished the double-digit scoring for FSC with 12 points and came down with eight boards. Kash Ayuso led the Sailfish (10-9, 4-7 SSC) with 24 points, and Ashleigh Boulin followed with a double-double including 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Florida Southern played catch-up the entire first half as Palm Beach Atlantic got out to a 10-point lead to close out the first quarter, 25-15. The Mocs opened up the second quarter with an 8-0 run to close within two points to make it 25-23 after a Jackson jumper. PBA hit a 3-pointer to increase their lead to five, but Zamora answered back with a jumper in the paint that pushed the graduate student past the 1,000 career point mark at 1,001. Following a few empty possessions for both teams, the Ecuador native made her way to the charity stripe where she sunk both free throws to cut the deficit to just one, 28-27.
The Sailfish pushed the lead back out to a seven, 34-27, with just over 2:30 left in the half. The Mocs attempted to cut into that lead as
Arielle Dabu sank a 3-pointer and
Sarah Lange hit a jumper to get within two but PBA scored four-straight to go into the halftime break with a 38-32 advantage.
Out of the halftime break, the Sailfish were able to earn another 10-point advantage. FSC was able to get within five but PBA's offense continued to put pressure on the Mocs throughout the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, FSC rallied with an 11-3 run where Zamora tied the game at 54 with a 3-pointer at the 2:53 mark. The Sailfish answered with a jumper and made a free throw to earn back their three-point lead. Zamora was fouled sending her to the line where she would sink both shots to make it another one-point game. PBA closed the game out with four unanswered points for the 61-56 victory.
The Mocs return home after a three-game road stint to host Eckerd College on Wednesday, Jan. 31. The tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Jenkins Fieldhouse.
