NICEVILLE, Fla.- The Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers saw their 2024 season come to a close Thursday afternoon on the road in Niceville as they fell behind early and never recovered in a 68-42 loss to the defending National Champion Northwest Florida State Raiders in the first round of the FCSAA State Tournament. 

 

The Bucs got off to a quick start as Ivy Brown scored on their first possession and Ashley Lester popped a pair of threes to give FSW an 8-2 lead less than two minutes into the contest.   The Bucs and Raiders traded baskets to 10-4, but FSW went cold from there as Northwest Florida went on a 17-3 run to close the quarter to take a 21-13 lead at the end of one period of action. 

 

The second quarter was all Northwest.  Brown scored 43 seconds into the  quarter to get the Bucs back to within six, but FSW wouldn't get their next field goal for 9:03 as Northwest Florida went on a 19-1 run to open up a 40-16 lead with under a minute to go in the first half.  FSW got the final four points of the period, but at the break it was all Raiders as Northwest Florida held a 40-20 lead into the locker rooms at the half. 

 

Brown tried to single handedly keep the Bucs in the game as she was the only FSW player to put points on the board for the first 9:45 of the third quarter, but it wasn't enough as Northwest Florida ballooned their lead to 55-29.  The teams traded baskets over the final 20 seconds of the quarter with the Raiders taking a 57-31 lead at the end of three periods of play. 

 

The Bucs had their best stretch of the game over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter as they kept the Raiders without a point while getting seven of their own to make it a 57-38 game with 5:00 to go. Northwest got it back going again over the final five minutes and the Bucs managed just four points as the Raiders finished off a 68-42 win to end the Bucs 2024 campaign. 

 

FSW shot just 32% in the loss and just 19.5% outside of Brown who finished with 22 points on 9-13 shooting. Lester was the only other Buc who finished with more than four points, going for 9 on 3-12 from the field. 

 

The Bucs finish their 2024 season 16-14 while Northwest Florida improves to 25-3 and advances to the FCSAA Semifinals where they will take on Eastern Florida on Friday.