Three Mocs Have Record Day as Women's Basketball Fuels Past Trojans

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - The Florida Southern College women's basketball team defeats the University of Mount Olive 74-55 in the second game of their Thanksgiving road trip.
 
In the Moccasin (4-3, 1-1 SSC) win, multiple Mocs had career days, with Anna Denes recording her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes. Lily Randgaard scored a career-high 23 points in 40 minutes, and Sydney Gomes recorded her second triple-double in three games with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in 40 minutes. 
 
Gomes' second triple-double of the season ties her for the most in a career and season with Kelly Charron, who recorded her pair within 11 days of each other in February of 1995. Gomes also now has the least time between triple-doubles at FSC, with her first career triple-double against Palm Beach Atlantic occurring just a week prior to today's against Mount Olive.
 
The Mocs found themselves down 7-0 a minute in before changing the course of the game, surging back to tie it 11-11 with just under six and a half minutes left in the first quarter. FSC then gained their first lead off of a Randgaard jumper and wouldn't relinquish the lead again. The Mocs extended their lead to six, thanks to their strong three-point shooting, as the first quarter came to a close with the Mocs up 24-18, their highest-scoring first quarter of the season.
 
Florida Southern's offensive attack slowed in the second quarter, but drives to the paint and offensive rebounding helped, leading to six points in the paint to pair with seven free throw attempts, five of which fell in the 14-point quarter. Lily Pereira pulled down two offensive rebounds in the second quarter of her first career start en route to career highs of nine points, four rebounds, and 29 minutes played. As the first half came to a close, the Mocs retained their lead, finding themselves up 38-29 with a half to go.
 
The strong first half carried over to the second half with the Mocs offense continuing to be orchestrated by Gomes and Randgaard. Randgaard opened up scoring in the second half with free throws for the Mocs, followed by a Catalina Ion three assisted by Gomes. This, paired with the Florida Southern defense hanging tough in the second half, limited Mount Olive to 13 points in both the third and fourth quarters of play. 
 
In the fourth, the Mocs continued to show their offensive potential with their second straight quarter with 15 or more points on above 50 percent shooting from the field. They did so while limiting the Mount Olive offensive rebounding efforts with four Mocs grabbing at least one defensive rebound in the fourth.
 
Florida Southern returns to action at the University of Tampa on Dec. 4 for their third conference game of the season; tip-off will be at 5:30 p.m.
 
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