FORT MYERS, FLA.- The #12 FSW Bucs allowed just 14 second half points and held visiting ASA Miami to just 31% shooting in the game as they rolled to an 84-41 win over the Silver Storm, their first of the young season.
The Bucs got off to a hot start, scoring on their first two possessions of the game, but then hit a cold spell, going nearly four minutes without a point as ASA Miami took an early lead.
A three from Kiara Felder got FSW back on track and another triple from Nairimar Vargas-Reyes put the Bucs ahead and they never looked back from there.
FSW scored the final 10 points of the first quarter, taking a 27-12 advantage after the first 10 minutes of action.
It was a slow start to the second for the Bucs as ASA trimmed the lead down to 12 midway through the period. Needing a bucket to get the momentum rolling back in the right direction, the Bucs turned to Taylor Williams who hit not one, but two big three pointers to stretch the FSW lead back out to 18 which is where they went to the half, leading 45-27.
FSW shot 46% in the first half and turned 14 ASA turnovers into 18 points in the first 20 minutes of action.
The Bucs quickly pushed the lead to 20 as the second half began and stretched it to 25 by the end of the third quarter as Williams knocked down her third triple of the night.
The fourth quarter was about the FSW defense which suffocated the Silver Storm in the final 10 minutes, holding them to just five points on 25% shooting. On the other side of the ball the Bucs put up 23 points of their own, finishing off an impressive 84-41 win to even up their 2018-19 record at 1-1 after opening weekend.
FSW shot 46% in the win and hit on 42% of their shots from behind the arc while holding ASA to 31% shooting and just five second half field goals. The Bucs forced 27 ASA turnovers on the afternoon, turning those into 35 points in the contest.
Five different Bucs scored in double figures, led by Simone Lett and Williams who each had 16. Sekinah Guthrie flirted with a triple-double for FSW with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 steals in the victory.
The Bucs improve to 1-1 with the win and will be back at it on Tuesday at Suncoast Credit Union Arena when they take on Impact Academy in a 5:30 PM tip.
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SUNCOAST CREDIT UNION ARENA
The Buccaneers compete in the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Suncoast Credit Union Arena is approximately 75,000 square feet and is home to the FSW basketball teams and a student athletic center. The arena seats approximately 3,300 fans and includes six skyboxes, a hospitality event center, competition courts that convert into recreational courts, athletic office space, student, faculty and staff wellness, and an athletic center with a fitness pavilion, men's and women's locker rooms and a weight training area. The arena has two Daktronics displays, on the north and south walls, that each measure 10 feet high by 20 feet wide. Both displays incorporate variable content zoning to each show one large image or they can be divided into multiple windows to show any variety of live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics, graphics and animations, and sponsorship messages. One-hundred feet of ribbon displays have been installed on the east and west walls of the arena. The ribbons provide the opportunity to supplement the content on the main displays as well as highlight sponsors throughout events.