Mocs Claw At Panthers With An 88-54 Win On the Road

MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Southern women's basketball team defeated Florida Tech 88-54 on the road with 11 different Mocs scoring in the Sunshine State Conference road win. This is the Mocs' 10th straight win against Florida Tech and the 88 points scored is the most scored in a SSC game since their 89 points against Palm Beach Atlantic in their 89-67 win on Dec. 4, 2021.
 
Leading the way for Florida Southern (10-8, 5-6 SSC) was Sydney Gomes with 14 points with Arriyana Bracero, Lily Randgaard, and Bre'Asia Washington also scoring double-digit points.
 
For the Panthers (5-12, 2-9 SSC) Tai Roberts led the way with 10 points and Remingtyn Smith pulled down a team-high six rebounds. 
 
In the largest SSC victory since the Mocs defeated PBA 79-37 at home on Jan. 18, 2020, the Mocs offense dominated the paint, scoring 42 points down low compared to 22 for the Panthers. 
 
The Mocs started the game off strong and scored their most points in the first quarter in 2025 with 27 first-quarter points, the most since their 37 against Trinity College at the Mocs Christmas Classic. Once the third quarter rolled around the Mocs found even more offense, dropping 28 points coming out of halftime, their most points in a quarter since playing Trinity College.
 
Florida Tech opened up scoring early, but Bracero and Gomes looked to quickly respond, going on a 5-0 run that later turned into an 8-4 lead with just over eight in the first quarter. As the Mocs lead grew, so did their number of contributors, with Anna Denes joining in on the scoring action to further open up the game with Randgaard to give the Mocs a 15-4 lead with six minutes left in the first.
 
Florida Tech looked to respond to the Mocs, but Florida Southern's defense and offense continued to hang tough as the first quarter came to a close with the Mocs leading 27-12.
 
As the second quarter started, so did the Panthers' offense with them scoring on back-to-back possessions to start the quarter before Catalina Ion responded with a bucket of her own.
 
Despite the two successful possessions for Florida Tech and the response from FSC, the second quarter of play became more defensive-focused than the first with both teams battling on the glass and forcing offensive errors by their opponent. 
 
When the quarter ended the Mocs found themselves with slightly more cushion than in the first, going into half up 46-28. Their 46 first-half points are the most this year, and most since their 90-85 win over Maryville University at the Mocs Christmas Classic.
The second half started, and the Mocs put the game out of reach, as Gomes began the scoring with a fast-break layup. The Mocs saw some fight from the Panthers early in the third, but the barrage of buckets in the paint wore down the Panthers' defense putting Florida Southern up 54-36 just over four minutes into the third.

On the very next possession, Randgaard hit the Mocs' first jumper of the second half, opening up the floodgates as the Mocs followed her three-pointer with 5:28 remaining with 17 more points in the quarter to head into the fourth with an extremely comfortable 74-42 lead.
 
The fourth quarter rolled in as did the substitutes for Florida Tech. Still, the Mocs continued to show their physicality on the defensive end, limiting the amount the Panthers could claw back, ultimately closing the game by shutting out the Panthers with 3:47 in-game action.
 
Florida Southern returns to the court Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m. as they return home to the George Jenkins Field House to take on the No. 24/RV University of Tampa Spartans. The Mocs fell 84-78 in their previous matchup this season at Tampa. 
 
 

 
  Read Full Article