Karl Van Gelder
Staff Writer
The women’s basketball team will be kicking off their season at the Gulf South Conference and Sunshine State Conference Tournament in Huntsville, Ala. on Nov. 10. The Mocs started their year off at the GSC/SSC tournament last year, going 1-1 in tournament play. They fell to ranked Lee University in the first game of the season and bounced back with a win against this year’s tournament host, the University of Alabama At Huntsville.
The Mocs started the year off strong, going 7-2 in the first nine games before facing off against tough teams in the Mocs Christmas Classic and in-conference play, where Florida Southern struggled, going 8-12 in the last 20 games.
The Mocs did shine at times though, with their win over ranked Nova Southeastern University in a historic defensive performance for the Mocs, as they allowed zero first quarter points, propelling them to their midseason in-conference win. After this victory though, the Mocs struggled, going 2-5 in their remaining regular season games. Despite some of their struggles, the Mocs finished No. 5 in the regular season conference standings, securing a spot in the conference tournament. In the tournament, the Mocs won their first round matchup over Nova Southeastern, winning the in-season series, and moved onto the second round. In the second round of the tournament, they faced off against the top-seeded, and No. 3 nationally ranked, University of Tampa, who they lost to to end their season.
A great amount of the team’s success last year was due to the dominance of graduate student Ashley Shell, who dominated with her scoring and rebounding ability. Shell averaged 13.9 points-per-game in her final season, the eighth most in the conference, and ranked No. 6 in the conference with 6.4 rebounds per game.
With the loss of Shell, along with a few other key players, the Mocs will have many new faces getting more minutes. One familiar face, though, is graduate student Domenica Zamora, who was the second leading scorer for Florida Southern last year with 10.9 points per game. Zamora is a multi-faceted player, like Shell, with her playmaking and rebounding ability that contributed to her 4.4 rebounds and assists per game last season.
“I have to be versatile to be able to help my team more, not only with giving out good passes for my teammates, but also helping out the post and getting rebounds,” Zamora reflected on last season.
One of the new faces for the Mocs is transfer center Sarah Lange, from California Baptist University, who the Mocs will look at to try to fill some of the holes Shell’s departure left in the team’s structure.
“[We] have a great transfer that’s going to play at the post and we have high expectations for this season,” Zamora said. “As a team we have the same goals, win the conference and qualify for the NCAA tournament, we want to be a fast but physical team, focusing on both ends of the court, offensively and defensively.”
The Mocs’ will begin their journey to the NCAA tournament in the GSC/SSC tournament. Their home opener will be at the George W. Jenkins Field House on Nov. 21, against the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, before their in-conference contests begin.
