MIAMI, Fla.- The Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers are headed back to the postseason after securing an 81-68 road win over the Miami Dade Sharks Wednesday night to punch their ticket to the FCSAA State Tournament in Niceville in two weeks.  

 

The Bucs got off to a slow start, not getting their first points of the game until the 6:40 mark, but they were able to keep Miami Dade at bay as well as the two teams hit the 6:00 mark of the first with just two points a piece on the board. Things picked up from there as Sarah Owona nailed a pair of three pointers and Lisa Le Roy picked off a Shark pass and threw it ahead to Roksana Sajdak for an easy two to give the Bucs an 18-14 lead at the end of one quarter of action. 

 

Eight straight points from Makenna Shaffer to begin the second for the Bucs pushed their lead to double digits, but the Sharks fought back, trimming FSW's lead back to just four at 33-29 later in the period. It remained a four point game into the final minute of the half, but FSW sprinted the finish line, pouring in six points including a steal and score by Ivy Brown at the buzzer to cushion their lead back to 10 at the half 39-29. 

 

Ashley Lester hit a jumper midway through the third quarter to give FSW their biggest lead of the game at 48-33 but Miami Dade wouldn't quit, scoring the next eight to cut the lead in half with 4:12 to go in the period. The Bucs regained their footing and got things going back in the right direction with Federica Lagana finishing an acrobatic layup at the rim to put the Bucs up 59-46 at the end of three quarters of play. 

 

Addison Potts nailed a three early in the fourth to push the lead back to 15 and Miami Dade never threatened again. The Sharks drew to within six, but the Bucs kept them at arms length and finished the game off at the free throw line, knocking down seven from the stripe in the final minute to wrap up an 81-68 win to secure their spot in the postseason. 

 

The Bucs and Sharks matched shooting percentages in the game, both going 23-58, good for 39.7%, but the difference came at the line where FSW made a season high 42 trips, hitting on 28 in the 13 point win. Shaffer and Lester finished with 17 a piece in the win while Owona added 12 off the Buccaneer bench. Brown led a dominating effort on the glass for FSW with a game high 11 rebounds.

 

The Bucs improve to 15-12 overall and 11-8 in Citrus Conference play with the win where they clinch their spot in the postseason with a Daytona loss to Hillsborough. Miami Dade falls to 6-23 overall and 4-15 in conference action. 

 

With FSW, Hillsborough and Indian River separated by just one game for second, third, and fourth in the league standings with two games to go, the Bucs will hook up with Indian River in a huge matchup Saturday on the road in Fort Pierce with tip off scheduled for 2:00 PM.