FORT PIERCE, Fla.- The Indian River Pioneers were an undefeated 7-0 at home this season going into their Southern Conference battle against #19 Florida SouthWestern Wednesday night in Fort Pierce.  They will head into Thursday 7-1 after the Buccaneers grinded out a 59-55 win behind 21 points from Macarena Retamales and a solid defensive effort to earn a key victory in their quest for a fifth straight league title. 

 

Right away it was obvious points were going to be at a premium as through 5:30 of play in the first quarter, the game was deadlocked at just 4.  Four straight from Tyshonne Tollie gave FSW an 8-4 advantage, but Indian River scored 10 of the final 12 points of the period to go on top 14-10 after one quarter of play. 

 

A quick three from Indian River to begin the second put the Bucs in their biggest hole of the night at seven, but they roared back on a 9-0 run moments later to take a 22-19 lead with 4:30 remaining in the quarter.  The teams traded buckets into the half with Natalia Tondi picking off a steal and scoring on the other end to put FSW in front 28-25 as the teams went to the break at half. 

 

The Bucs pushed their lead to a game high eight early in the third quarter when Macarena Retamales scooped up an offensive rebound and scored to make it 37-29 FSW, but the Pioneers put together their best run of the night with an 8-0 burst over the next 2:12 to tie the score at 37 with 2:21 to go in the third.  Steal and scores from Retamales and Tondi broke the Pioneers momentum  and put the Bucs back up four, giving them a 41-37 lead as they headed to the fourth and final quarter of action.  

 

It remained a four point game early in the fourth when Sariana Rodriguez dialed up a long range bomb to stretch the Bucs lead to 48-41 and it seemed to be the straw that broke the Pioneers back as Indian River never got closer than three again and a late jumper from Ronaltha Marc put the nail in the coffin as FSW went on to win 59-55 at the final horn.  

 

The Bucs shot just 38% in the contest, but held Indian River to just 34% from the field and outscored the Pioneers 10-2 at the free throw line. Retamales led the way for the Bucs, putting up 21 points and 7 rebounds while Tollie had 11 points and 8 boards, and Marc chipped in 9 off the FSW bench.  The difference came in the paint where FSW outscored Indian River 30-13 in the win while turning 13 Pioneer turnovers into 20 points conversely Indian River managed just 10 points off 15 FSW mishaps.  

 

FSW improves to 13-3 overall and 2-0 in Southern Conference play with the win while Indian River falls to 11-7 overall and 1-1 in league play.  

 

The Bucs will look to finish off a sweep of their first round of conference play on Saturday when they host Miami Dade in a 2 PM start from Suncoast Credit Union Arena.