TAMPA, Fla.- Buckets were hard to come by for both sides Tuesday night as the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers took on the Hillsborough Hawks in Citrus Conference action in Tampa, but in the end, the Hawks made one more shot than the Bucs, outlasting FSW for a 54-51 win to leapfrog the Bucs for second place in the conference standings. 

 

Points were at a premium right from the tip as it wasn't until the closing seconds of the first that the Bucs hit double digits with Sarah Owona connecting on a three to give FSW a 12-11 lead at the end of one. 

 

Things didn't pick up much in the second as the teams traded empty possessions to 18-12 midway through the quarter. FSW found a little bit of momentum before the half, trading baskets with the Hawks to take a 25-18 lead into the break at half. 

 

Hillsborough was the aggressors coming out of the break, quickly erasing the Bucs lead and taking a 32-31 lead of their own midway through the period. The Bucs answered back, tying the game and sending it to the fourth deadlocked at 37. 

 

The Bucs and Hawks took turns with the lead early in the fourth until Federica Lagana knifed through the lane and dished to Lisa Le Roy for a three to put FSW in front 44-43 with 3:00 to go. Four straight for Hillsborough put the Bucs back ahead and FSW never recovered as the Hawks went on to win it 54-51.  

 

Kiana Wilson led the Bucs with 15 points while Sarah Owona added 14 in the loss. No other statistics were available at time of release.  

 

Hillsborough jumps FSW in the Citrus Conference standings at 9-6 while improving to 13-10 overall while the Bucs fall to 12-10 and 8-6 in league play. 

 

FSW now turns their attention to Thursday when they make the long trip to Gainesville to take on Santa Fe in a 5 PM tip.