FORT MYERS, Fla.- In what turned into a heavyweight slugfest at Suncoast Credit Union Arena Saturday afternoon between the Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers and the Western Wyoming Mustangs, a hero emerged, as Ashley Lester nailed six three pointers and poured in nearly half her team's points as the Bucs pulled out a 52-48 win to wrap up the 2023 FSW Classic in Fort Myers. 

 

The Bucs got off to a dreadful start right off the tip as Western Wyoming raced out to a 10-2 lead just 2:01 into the game.  A three from Ashley Lester got the Bucs on track and FSW two more triples from the freshman had the Bucs on top for the first time in the game at 13-10 with 3:34 left in the first.  The Bucs remained in front by three late in the first when Addison Potts knocked down a three from the right wing to put FSW on top 20-14 at the end of 10 minutes of action.  

 

After shooting 67% from the field in the first quarter, the second was a completely different story for the Bucs. With a lid on their basket, FSW managed just a single point through the first six minutes of the quarter and it wasn't until the 2:01 mark of the quarter that they got their first basket to fall as Western Wyoming took advantage of the drought to tie the score up at 22. The bucket from Kiana Wilson put the Bucs back ahead and they would nurse that lead to the locker room at 24-23.  The two teams finished the second quarter a combined 3-36 from the field with 11 turnovers.  

 

The Bucs struggles continued as the second half began as a pair of Western Wyoming threes put the Mustangs back in front 29-24 two minutes into the half. The Bucs stayed within striking distance and midway through the third another three from Lester put the Purple and Aqua back in front 32-31.  The Bucs went up two moments later, but a Mustang bucket in the final minute of the quarter tied things back up and that's the way the teams went to the fourth knotted at 35.  

 

A free throw from Lester early in the fourth put the Bucs back in front and it remained that way for the first 2:30 until Sarah Owona found a gap in the Mustang defense to give FSW a 38-35 lead with 7:30 to go. A three from Lester extended the lead to six and after a pair of hoops for Western Wyoming Makenna Shaffer nailed a triple to give the Bucs what felt like an insurmountable lead at 44-39 with 4:37 to go.  Lester's sixth three of the game put the Bucs up 50-41 and their defense did enough to hold on for the win as FSW celebrated a 52-48 victory at the final buzzer.  

 

Lester finished with a game high 23 points and went 6-10 from the three point line while Owona was the only other FSW player with more than six points in the contest as she added 9 off the bench.  Shaffer had a huge afternoon on the boards as she finished with a career high 17 rebounds, nearly twice as many as any other player in the game.  

 

FSW improves to 3-4 on the year with the win while Western Wyoming falls to 3-8 on the year.  

 

Next time out it counts for keeps for the Bucs as they play their first Citrus Conference game in program history on Saturday, December 9^th when they travel across Alligator Alley to take on Miami Dade in a 2 PM start.