LAKELAND, Fla. - Anna Denes scored a career-high to lead the Florida Southern College women's basketball team to a 74-71 victory over visiting Barry University on Saturday evening inside Jenkins Field House.
The Moccasins (12-10, 5-10 SSC) had four score in double figures as Denes led the way earning a new career-high of 22 points going 8-for-12 from the floor.
Arielle Dabu dished out 16 points, followed by
Domenica Zamora with 12 points and
Amari Jackson with 10 of her own in the win.
The Buccaneers (8-14, 3-11 SSC) were led by Chiara Fusari contributing 21 points, Aubrey Jennings followed with 18 and Britney Mapang with 15 points.
Florida Southern jumped to a quick 7-0 lead to open up the first quarter. Barry finally got on the board with a jumper, but the Mocs answered back with a jumper and back-to-back layups from Dabu and Denes to get out to an 11-point lead, 13-2.
The two then exchanged buckets just under the five-minute mark, making it 17-9.
Arriyana Bracero closed out the scoring for the Mocs in the first quarter with a shot beyond the arc and headed into the second with a 20-10 advantage.
The second quarter opened with a scoring drought for FSC as Barry had a 6-0 run to cut the Mocs lead down to four, 20-16. Denes hit a jumper to get Florida Southern on the board for the second quarter, but it would be a back-and-forth battle as the Bucs continued to close on the Mocs lead. Barry continued to put pressure on FSC and would tie the game heading into the locker room after Fusari went 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
The Moccasins quickly got back the lead to start the second half, as Denes hit a backhanded layup to get up, 35-33 Dabu got FSC to a five-point lead with a nothing-but-net 3-pointer making it 40-35. Barry went on an 11-0 run that gave them a six-point lead, their first of the game. Dabu cut the lead down to two with a 3-pointer and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
With FSC down 49-47, the Mocs rallied to come within one but headed into the final quarter with a two-point deficit 53-51. The fourth quarter opened with a Jackson layup to tie the game and Zamora followed with a shot beyond the arc to take back a 56-53 lead. Florida Southern went on to get a five-point lead with back-to-back layups from Denes to make it 60-55 at the six-minute mark.
The Buccaneers were able to tie the game two additional times as Fusari sank a 3-pointer of her own at about the four-minute mark to make it 62-all, and Mapang with a layup at the two-minute to make it 64-all. Unfortunately for Barry that was all they had in them to fight as the Mocs would close out going on a 10-7 run with the final 3-pointer coming at the buzzer, but it wasn't enough as FSC swept the conference series against Barry with a 74-71 final.
Florida Southern returns to Jenkins Field House Wednesday, Feb. 14 as they play host to Saint Leo University. The tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
