FORT MYERS, FLA.- The #13 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers broke a number of school records Saturday afternoon in Suncoast Credit Union Arena, including dropping 123 points on visiting Trinity College, a new program best mark, in a 123-52 victory to improve to 19-2 on the year.
Things were closer than expected at the start Saturday as the two teams traded baskets back and forth to a 13-10 FSW lead just over three minutes in. From there it was all Bucs however as a Simone Lett jumper started an 8-0 FSW run to quickly push the lead to double digits at 21-10. The Bucs continued to push the pace, getting a late offensive rebound and putback from Tonysha Curry to give them a comfortable 27-12 lead after one.
FSW owned the beginning of the second period, scoring the first 18 points, led by seven points from Taylor Williams and six from Cherelle Washington to blow the game wide open at 47-12. The Bucs hit the 50 point mark with three minutes to go as Za'Nautica Downs shoveled a pass to Shondell Vickers for an easy two and FSW continued to add onto their advantage, stretching the lead to 65-26 before the half.
It was more of the same in the second half as the Bucs lead went to 50 midway through the third quarter on a pair of Tina Stephens free throws. FSW almost didn't need a fourth quarter to reach the century mark for the eighth time on the year as they finished the third quarter in front of the Tigers by a count of 96-38.
FSW needed just over a minute in the fourth quarter to hit the 100 point mark as Downs hooked up with Curry for a deuce to make it 100-40. With little left to wonder but what the final score would be, the Bucs made program history with just over two minutes remaining as Shekinah Guthrie picked up her second steal of the game to start a break and eventually dished it to Williams for an easy layup to put FSW up 121-42 and set an all-time record with their 121st point of the afternoon. The Bucs scored once more, finishing off the Tigers 123-52 for their 15th straight win on the season.
The final numbers were staggering as expected for the purple and aqua. Not only were the 123 points scored a program record, but so were the 39 offensive rebounds in the game, leading to a 68-40 disparity on the boards in favor of FSW. The Bucs finished with 31 steals in the contest, also a program record, and got off 113 field goal attempts in the 40 minute affair, another all-time best mark.
Seven different players scored in double figures led by Downs who filled the stat sheet with 23 points, 9 steals, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists as she flirted with a quadruple-double. Lett and Washington each added 15 while Williams had 14 and Curry posted an 11 point, 12 rebound double-double in the win.
FSW wins their 15th straight game to improve to 19-2 on the year, the best start in school history, while Trinity drops to 2-11 on the season.
The Bucs will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to IMG Academy in Bradenton to take on the Ascenders in non-conference action. They return home to Suncoast Credit Union Arena on Saturday, January 19th to take on Eastern Florida State in a 2:00 tip.
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For the latest news on FSW Athletics, log on to FSWBucs.com or stay connected to the Bucs on social media. Follow the Buccaneers on Twitter @FSWBucs, on Instagram @FSWBucs, on Facebook at Facebook.com/FSWBucs and on Snapchat at BucsSnaps.
WATCH THE BUCS ONLINE
All of FSW's home games will be available online through FSW Livestream (FSW.edu/livestream), and can be viewed on smartphones, tablets and laptop or desktop computers.
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.