LAKELAND, Fla. - Sydney Gomes led the night, finishing the night with her first collegiate triple-double as the Florida Southern College women's basketball team defeated Palm Beach Atlantic University 86-65 in Sunshine State Conference action on Saturday evening.
Gomes finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, the first Moccasin (3-2, 1-1 SSC) to record a triple-double since Anja Fuchs-Robetin in 2018. Gomes scored her 500th career point going 5-12 from the field, 3-6 from three, a career-high in assists, and finished with 10 defensive boards. Two other Mocs finished in double-digit figures as
Lily Randgaard put up 21 points going 8-13 from the field and four 4-7 from beyond the arc.
Catalina Ion went an impressive 3-3 from three to finish with 18 points.
The Sailfish (2-4, 0-2 SSC) also had three players finish in double figures. Kash Ayuso led the night with 23 points, followed by Anabel Ellison and Karyzma Pierre with 12 points apiece.
Palm Beach Atlantic opened up on a 5-0 run, until Rangaard single-handedly tied the game with a 3-pointer and a layup to make it 5-5 with six minutes remaining in the quarter. Gomes put Florida Southern banking two free throws to give the Mocs the first lead of the night. The Sailfish and Mocs would exchange points ending the quarter with a 14-all tie.
PBA broke the tie as Ayuso pushed through the Mocs defense to get a layup in the paint, but an Ion 3-pointer allowed FSC to earn a 17-16 lead with still a lot of time left in the quarter. The Sailfish earned a three-point lead just under the eight-minute mark, but
Dakota Daniello broke the lead, scoring a layup on a fastbreak but gave FSC a one-point lead. Gomes and Ion gave the Mocs the largest lead so far, going on a five-point run to make it 29-22 with five minutes left.
Florida Southern ended the quarter on a 12-9 run, aided by back-to-back shots beyond the arc from Randgaard and
Reagan White, to head into halftime with a 41-30 lead.
Out of the break, the Mocs increased the lead to 16 before the Sailfish could answer back with
Anna Denes opening the third quarter with her first points of the game. Palm Beach Atlantic tried to cut Florida Southern's lead but the Mocs momentum continued to push through, going to a 20-point lead with
Arriyana Bracero's jumper and as much as a 22-point lead with Ion hitting a jumper and a 3-pointer.
In the fourth quarter, Mocs saw the biggest lead of the game as Gomes sank her third 3-pointer of the night to hit 19 points and give FSC a 29 point lead. PBA once again tried to cut into FSCs lead but the Mocs never let up, finishing with a 21 point lead and earning their first conference win, shooting 47.8% from the field, 52.2% from beyond the arc, and 76.9% from the line.
Florida Southern hits the road for the first time this season as they travel to North Carolina to face Fayetteville State and Mount Olive. The Mocs face the Broncos on Friday, Nov. 29 at 2:00 p.m. and conclude the road trip against the Trojans on Saturday. Nov. 30 at 12:00 p.m.
