SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Florida Southern saw its 2015-16 season come to an end here Tuesday afternoon as the Moccasins fourth-quarter rally fell just short en route to suffering a hard-fought 73-69 setback to top-ranked and undefeated Lubbock Christian in the 2016 Division II Elite Eight national quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon.
The Moccasins, who were playing in just its second-ever Elite Eight and first since 1995, closed the 2015-16 campaign with a 27-6 overall record. The 27 wins is one shy of the school record for single season wins set by the 1994-95 squad, which ended the season with a 28-4 record. FSC posted a 13-14 last season.
"Lubbock is a good team, but I thought our kids came today and played their butts off. You can't take that away from them, I feel like we played good enough to win the game," Moccasin head coach Betsy Harris said following her team's first loss to a non-Sunshine State Conference team this season. FSC had entered the game with a 13-5 against SSC schools and 14-0 against non-SSC teams.
The Mocs, who trailed by as much as 11 points late in the third quarter, outscored the Lady Chaparrals, 22-16, in the final quarter, including pulling within one following a trey by senior guard Shaquita Snow (Racine, Wis.) with 2:18 left in the game. Snow's trey made the score 67-66.
In the quarter, senior forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.) had 12 of her team high 19 points and closed her Moccasin career with 1,049 points, which is 18th on the school's all-time scoring chart and tied for 11th with Williamina Folks on the school's all-time rebound chart with 637 career boards. Harris had nine boards in Tuesday's game.
"I didn't expect the season to go the way it did and right now it hurts the way we lost, but it was an amazing experience and what a great way to end my career in the Elite Eight," said the 6-foot forward.
After LCU All-American guard Nicole Hampton hit 1-of-2 free throws with 1:56 left, the Mocs had a chance to take the lead, but Snow was called for a travel that appeared to be questionable with 1:36 left in the game.
On the ensuing possession, LCU pushed its lead out to 71-66 following a lay-up and free throw by Haley Fowler with 1:17 left.
The Mocs, though, would answer on its next trip down the court as Snow drilled her second trey of the quarter with 1:02 left to pull within 71-69. FSC would then get the ball back following a turnover by Fowler with 45 seconds remaining.
On its trip down court, Snow drove towards the basket, but her lay-up with 28 seconds left missed the mark and Hampton pulled down the rebound. Fowler would cap the scoring with two free throws with 10 seconds left.
"We had some missed opportunities on offense today and that really hurt us, especially in the third quarter as we were outscored, 22-18," Harris said. "We beat them in the fourth. Lubbock is going to score."
The Lady Chaps entered the game fourth in Division II in three-point shooting percentage, but were held to a 1-for-8 effort from long distance.
"Our defense played great today and I thought we did a good job of holding them off the 3-point line, which was was a concern coming into the game," said Harris, who is 40-20 in her second season with the Mocs.
Along with Harris' 19 points, junior forward Gianna Vastola (Sarasota, Fla.) and junior guard Jensen Blassage (Cherry Valley, Ill.) each had 12 points, while Snow added 11 points, all of which came in the second half.
"It was a tremendous game. I thought Florida Southern played really well and defended really well," Lubbock Christian head coach Steve Gomez said in the postgame press conference. "We were disjointed at times, but that was due to FSC's defense and them hitting timely shots. I thought Florida Southern played really well."
Fowler led the way for the Lady Chaps with 23 points, including 11 of the 23 coming in the final quarter. In addition to Fowler, Hampton and Tess Bruffey each scored 16 points, while Kelsey Hoppel had 11 points.
One area where the Mocs won was in assists and turnovers as FSC finished with 16 assists and 17 turnovers, while LCU had 10 assists and 19 turnovers. The Lady Chaps lead the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 1.4.
"They usually lead in assist/turnover ratio and we won that stat today. They outrebounded us, but I don't think that was the difference in the game overall. I thought our kids did great and we wish Lubbock the best of luck in the tournament," said the Mocs coach.
In the first half, LCU shot 44 percent from the field and was 13-for-15 from the free throw line as they led 35-29 at the half.
The Mocs opened the third quarter by scoring 11 of the first 16 points to take a 41-40 lead with 6:06 left in the period following a bucket by junior guard Flo Ward (Salisbury, England). LCU, though, would use a 14-2 run to take a 54-43 lead, before buckets from Harris and freshman guard Camille Giardina (Sarasota, Fla.) to pull FSC within seven at 54-47 with 1:54 remaining.
LCU would score the final three points of the quarter to take its 57-47 lead after three quarters.
Tuesday's game was the final game of the Moccasins' three seniors - Harris, Snow and guard Sydni Payne (Conyers, Ga.). Over the last two seasons, those three have helped lead the Mocs to a 40-20 record.
FSC finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field, including 56 percent in the third quarter and also shot 33 percent from the 3-point line. LCU shot 48 percent from the field and 13 percent from long distance.
The biggest difference in the game came at the free throw line as the Mocs were outshot, 29-to-7 from the line, including 15-to-4 in the first half. For the game, LCU was 22-for-29 (76 percent) from the free throw line and FSC was 5-for-7 (71 percent) at the line.
"It's like I told them in the locker room after the game, they overachieved. We won 13 games last year and it all started in the preseason, the girls worked their tails off and I always told them that the hard work was going to pay off," said Coach Harris. "I'm very competitive. I expect the best out of them. Their mental toughness was amazing.
"I am very proud of them."