LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida Southern College women's basketball team suffered a tough loss at home on Wednesday evening as the Moccasins fell in Sunshine State Conference play to Eckerd College, 81-66 inside Jenkins Field House.
Despite the loss, the Moccasins (11-8, 4-8 SSC) had three finish with double-digits as
Marissa Jenike led the way with 14 points.
Sydney Gomes and
Arielle Dabu both came off the bench with their double-digit scores as Gomes followed with 12 and Dabu chipped in 11. The Tritons (12-7, 7-5 SSC) had four finish in double-figures as two had 22 points including Lauryn Vieira and Bella Green, while Hannah Wentworth contributed 18 followed by Martyna Kowalski with 16 of her own.
The first quarter started off with six lead changes and four ties as FSC's points came primarily from the free throw line as
Anna Denes,
Sarah Lange, and Jenike went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. The Mocs tried to rally but the Tritons took a small lead to end the quarter as Green and Vieira hit back-to-back layups to take away a three-point advantage from Florida Southern and go into the second period leading, 12-11.
To open the second quarter, the Mocs went on a 7-2 run as
Amari Jackson opened the quarter with a layup, and Gomes would score from both beyond the arc and on a jumper. Eckerd continued putting pressure on FSC's defense and tied the game for the final time at 18-all with 6:40 remaining in the quarter. The Tritons held Florida Southern scoreless for the next two minutes of action as Eckerd pulled away with a nine-point lead. FSC tried to chip away at Eckerd's lead as time dwindled and the Mocs got into a 40-26 slump to head into the halftime break.
Arriyana Bracero opened up the third quarter with a jumper to get the scoring rolling, but the next six minutes of action was back-and-forth and FSC could not find the grove to dig into the Tritons lead as Eckerd ended the scoring in the third with a 20-point advantage with just under two minutes of play. The Mocs found some rhythm and kept the Tritons from adding to the 63-43 lead at the end of the third.
Florida Southern's momentum carried into the fourth, going on a 12-2 run in the first 2:32 minutes of play as Dabu hit threes to open and close the scoring for FSC. Dabu, Lange, and Gomes all contributed, cutting Eckerd's lead in half, to make it 65-55 with 7:28 left to play.
The Tritons continued to roll in the fourth as they eventually took home the 81-66 victory.
The Mocs are next in action on the road on Saturday, Feb. 3 as they make their way down I-4 to face Tampa in another SSC rematch. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
