LAKELAND, Fla. - The eighth-seed Florida Southern College women's basketball is set to take on fourth-seed Eckerd College in the semifinals of the Sunshine State Conference Women's Basketball Championship on Thursday, March 7, at 7:00 p.m. inside the McAruther Center in St. Petersburg.
Location: St. Petersburg, Fla.
Arena: McAruther Center
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Coverage: Live Stats -
www.fscmocs.com/stats; Video -
www.fscmocs.com/live
The Moccasins upset one-seed Nova Southeastern on Tuesday in the quarterfinals, 55-45. With the win, Florida Southern became the first eight-seed, men's or women's, to defeat the one-seed in conference tournament history. The Mocs were hot, shooting 38.6% from the floor and 54.5% from 3. Junior
Marissa Jenike led the way with 12 points, and
Arielle Dabu followed closely behind with 11 of her own. Graduate student
Domenica Zamora pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, seven being on the defensive end. For the Sharks, Morgan Kane led with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
8th seed - The Moccasins -
Florida Southern finished the regular season with an overall record of 15-12 and 8-12 in conference play. Following last night's win over one-seed NSU, FSC moves to 16-12 on the year and advances to the semifinals to face fourth-seed Eckerd on the road.
The Mocs averaged 62.7 points per game and 37.3 rebounds per game this year. They ended the regular season shooting 39.3% from the field and 31.5% from behind the arc. Florida Southern boasts a 0.95 assist-to-turnover ratio, while their opponents average 13.5 turnovers a game. Jenike leads the team in scoring with 9.4 points per game, followed closely by Dabu, who averaged 8.4 points per game, and Zamora and
Amari Jackson, who averaged eight points per game. On the glass, Jackson and
Anna Denes lead FSC with 5.4 rebounds a game. Zamora leads the team in assists with 86 on the season (#7 SSC). Jackson also leads the team in blocked shots, coming in at number six in the SSC with 29.
4th Seed - The Tritons-
After getting swept by the Tars in the regular season, the Tritons defeated Rollins, 67-53, when it mattered most in the quarterfinals of the SSC tournament. Lauryn Vieira led Eckerd with 28 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, and three steals. Martyna Kowalska led with 13 rebounds, and Jessie Ford pulled down 10 rebounds.
Eckerd averages 67.1 points per game and gives up 60.9 points per game. For the Tritons, Vieria leads the way, averaging 16.5 points per game (#3 SSC) and 6.3 rebounds per game (#9 SSC). Vieria also has 181 assists (#1 SSC) and 109 steals (#1 SSC) on the year. Shooting 34.4% from behind the arc (#9 SSC), Hannah Wentworth averages 10.1 points per game. Martyna Kowalska averages 5.9 rebounds per game to go along with 10 points per game.
FSC in the SSC Tournament
Florida Southern owns a 54-30 overall record in the tournament, being 12x champion and 9x runner-up. The Mocs have upset Nova Southeastern two years in a row to advance to the SSC semifinals. Florida Southern is looking to advance past the semifinal game for the first time since 2022, where they fell to the University of Tampa 74-67.
The Matchup - FSC vs Eckerd
FSC and Eckerd matchup for the 10th time in tournament history, with FSC leading 7-2 overall. Both FSC and Eckerd enter the semifinals on a two-game winning streak. The Mocs and Tritons last met in the 2022 SSC Semifinals, where Florida Southern pulled out the 58-46 win, before falling to Eckerd in the South Region Quarterfinals, 69-64.
This season, the Tritons have swept the Mocs first at Eckerd on Dec. 9 with a 71-52 final and then at home on Jan. 31 with an 81-66 final.
The winner of the semifinal matchup between Florida Southern and Eckerd will face the winner of the two-seed Tampa Spartans and three-seed Embry Riddle Eagles on Sunday, March 10th, for the 2024 Sunshine State Conference Championship. The SSC champion will receive automatic qualification to the 2024 NCAA Division II Championships.
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