MIAMI, Fla.- It wasn't the prettiest thing you have ever seen, but it counted, just like the #9 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers 75-74 win over Miami Dade Wednesday night on the Sunshine State's East Coast. That best describes Teniola Kuyinu's game winning, bank shot three pointer from the right corner with 6 seconds left to lift the Bucs past the Sharks to 3-0 in Southern Conference play.  

 

It was an up and down start for the Bucs and the Sharks as FSW got out to an 11-8 lead midway through the first quarter.  A pull up three pointer from Sheslanie Laureano, her third of the quarter, upped the Bucs lead to 23-11 as the first period came to a close.  

 

After getting off to a hot start in the first, the Bucs got off to equally as bad of start in the second.  Miami Dade scored 12 of the first 13 points of the second to all but erase the Bucs lead four minutes into the quarter.  A bucket from Patience Williams got FSW going and they went on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to retake a 10 point lead at 33-23 with 2:00 remaining in the quarter.  The Bucs closed the half strong, pushing their lead all the way to 44-27 before the horn blew to send the teams to the locker room.  

 

The third quarter was deJa'vu for the Bucs as the Sharks again came out the aggressors with FSW scoring just four points in the first six minutes to reduce a 17 point FSW lead to just four at 48-44 with 4:00 to go in the period. A putback for Miami Dade with 2:02 remaining tied the score at 48 before five points from Laureano put the Bucs back in front 53-49 at the end of three quarters of play. 

 

The birthday girl, Ronaltha Marc gave FSW a seven point lead at 58-51 early in the fourth quarter, but again a Miami Dade run went unchecked by the Bucs as the Sharks flipped the script and took their first lead of the game with 3:05 remaining on a deep three pointer from the wing.  Sariana Rodriguez hit a big three pointer with the shot clock winding down to put FSW back in front and after Miami Dade tied the score back up, hit another long jumper to make it 72-70 FSW with 30 seconds to go. Miami Dade tied the score at 72 with a pair of free throws to give the Bucs the ball with the shot clock off.  That's when an unlikely hero stepped to the forefront.  Teniola Kuyinu, who hadn't made a field goal all night, took a shot from the corner with time winding down and somehow kissed it off the glass and in from a 90 degree angle to give the Bucs a 75-72 lead with 6 seconds to go.  Miami Dade made a pair of free throws to make it a one point game, but never got a chance to win it as the Bucs hung on for a 75-74 win to remain unbeaten on the 2021 campaign. 

 

The Bucs shot 42% from the field and 42% from three in the win.  Four players scored in double figures in the win led by Laureano who went for 18 points and 5 assists.  Rodriguez came off the bench to score 16 for the Bucs while Marc had 15 points on her birthday and Williams had 12 points and 9 rebounds on the inside for FSW.  

 

The Bucs improve to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in Southern Conference play with the victory while Miami Dade falls to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in league play.  

 

The Bucs head out of conference on Friday when they travel North to take on old Suncoast Conference rival St. Petersburg in a 5:30 tip.