FORT MYERS, Fla.- Florida SouthWestern State freshman Patience Williams didn't play like a freshman in her first game against a top 25 ranked opponent Saturday afternoon in Suncoast Credit Union Arena. The Buccaneers rookie put up 31 points and pulled down 18 rebounds as #12 FSW outlasted #25 Indian River 74-72 in an instant Southern Conference classic.
Playing at home for the first time in 24 days, the Bucs didn't exactly get off to the start they were looking for as Indian River jumped out to an 8-0 lead before FSW even realized what hit them. The Bucs worked their way back in and a steal and score from Ronaltha Marc and a tough bucket on the inside from Patience Williams gave FSW their first lead of the game at 11-10 with 3:00 left in the first quarter. A jumper from Sheslanie Laureano and then a triple from the Bucs star stretched the lead to 20-14 in favor of FSW at the end of one quarter of action.
Indian River again began the second quarter on a tear, scoring the first nine points of the period to flip the script on the Bucs and take a 23-20 lead with 7:24 to go in the half. A coast to coast layup for Tyshonne Tollie and a three from Tashun Bryson gave the Bucs the lead back before a Williams jumper pushed the lead to six at 29-23. The Bucs offense went cold in the closing minutes of the half, but the Pioneers were only able to whittle three points off the FSW lead as the Bucs took a 32-29 advantage into the break at half.
A second chance bucket from Williams early in the second stretched the Bucs lead to five, but five straight from the Pioneers tied the game up at 38 with 6:23 to go in the third. Indian River took a two point lead before back to back threes from Sariana Rodriguez gave the Bucs a four point lead once again at 44-40. It continued to be a back and forth battle the rest of the way in the third with a late three for Indian River giving the Pioneers a one point advantage at 50-49 as the teams went to the fourth.
The Bucs retook a two point lead early in the fourth, but Indian River kept fighting, once again tying the score at 55 with 7:12 to go. Two tough buckets on the inside from Williams were matched by back to back layups for Indian River to keep the game tied midway through the fourth. A long pass up the court from Laureano to Williams gave the Bucs a two point lead with 4:50 to go and they never trailed again. A pair of free throws for Williams made it a four point game and Rodriguez found Williams in the paint for an easy two to stretch the lead to seven at 69-62. The closing moments didn't come without drama though. With 30 seconds to go, a three for the Pioneers made it a two point game and a steal on the ensuing FSW possession gave Indian River a chance to tie the game with 23 seconds left. But a quick steal from Laureano and a lay in from the sophomore once again made it a four point game at 73-69. A banked in three off of a third chance opportunity for the Pioneers made it a one point game with 11 seconds to go. On the inbounds for the Bucs, a turnover gave Indian River the ball back under their own basket with a chance to take the lead with less than 10 seconds remaining. The Bucs defense dug in, getting a stop before an FSW free throw made it a two point game with 8 seconds remaining. After the ball was knocked out of bounds as Indian River tried to bring it up court, a last ditch effort by the Pioneers was swatted out of the air by Bryson to seal a 74-72 win for the Bucs to the delight of the home crowd.
Williams had a career night for the Bucs, scoring 31 points and pulling down 18 rebounds, just two shy of the school record in the victory. Laureano came on late with 14 points and 7 steals for the Bucs while Marc and Rodriguez each added 8 points. The Bucs won despite 28 turnovers leading to 22 Pioneer points in the contest.
FSW improves to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play with the win while Indian River falls to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in conference action.
The Bucs return to the court on Wednesday when they travel to Miami Dade for a 5:30 tip against the Sharks in Kendall.