TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Southern College women's basketball team fell to the No. 17/RV the University of Tampa 84-78 in their first road Sunshine State Conference game of the season.
The 162 combined points in the contest is the most points scored in a game between the two schools since 2000, and the most points scored by Florida Southern against the Spartans (7-2, 1-0 SSC) since a 79-54 win in January of 2015.
Leading the way for the Moccasins (4-4, 1-2 SSC) offensively was
Arriyana Bracero who set a career-high with 27 points going 11-17 from the field and 5-8 from beyond the arc. Bracero was one of three Mocs to stay on the court for the entirety of the game. The other two to play the entire 40 minutes of action was
Sydney Gomes with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists to pair with
Lily Randgaard's team-leading marks in rebounds with 10 and assists with six.
The Mocs won the tip, and the first quarter. They started the game by finding open shots and either hitting them or getting the offensive rebound to set up another shot, eventually putting Florida Southern up 18-10 with just over three minutes in the first quarter.
Tampa looked to respond over the last three minutes, with strong three-point shooting, but the Mocs kept their lead to the whistle, putting themselves up 23-22 for their second straight first quarter with 20 or more points.
The Spartans looked to return the favor once the second quarter began, utilizing substitutes to try to find some success, as they scored four points and held the Mocs to none through the first couple minutes. Bracero responded scoring the first points of the second quarter for Florida Southern with a layup to regain the lead, initiating the back-and-forth play for the second quarter.
The second quarter saw a major shift from the first with both teams led defensively for stretches of the quarter until the last two minutes and fourteen seconds where more than a third of the total points in the quarter were scored. Over the last minute and a half three three pointers were made, all by Florida Southern, with each three made by a different Moc.
The Mocs headed into the locker room with a 43-36 lead, their 43 points being the most they've scored in a first half all season.
The Mocs looked to carry their momentum out of halftime, starting the second half off with a Bracero layup and 5-0 run over the first three minutes. Despite the hot start from FSC, Tampa responded with strong defense and made quick work to get back into the game and outscoring the Mocs 25-7. During the stretch Tampa had a 20-0 run, regaining the lead for the first time since the second quarter.
Florida Southern looked to respond as the fourth quarter began, matching Tampa's scoring over the first few minutes before shutting down the Tampa offense while finding offensive production through
Sarah Lange to get the Mocs within three with six and a half minutes remaining.
Tampa responded with a three pointer before Florida Southern could get the Spartans lead down to two, first with four minutes remaining then again with two minutes remaining. Tampa regained their scoring that was stifled at points in the fourth, while slowing down the Mocs offensive attack to pull away in the final moments despite multiple late Mocs rallies as FSC fell on the road 84-78.
Florida Southern returns to Jenkins Field House after the three-game road stretch on Saturday, Dec. 7 as they host Florida Tech. The tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
