Posted: Feb 05, 2022
GAINESVILLE, Fla.- The #20 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers bullied their way to an 81-64 win over Santa Fe Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, outrebounding the Saints 51-26 and putting up 34 points in the paint in route to an 81-64 win in non-conference action.
It took a while for the Bucs to get going, but once they did, the Saints couldn't slow them down. With the Saints up one midway through the first, the Bucs went on a 10-0 run to close out the period and take a 19-10 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Santa Fe whittled the Bucs lead down to just three midway through the second, but again, a Bucs burst cushioned their lead, this time a 7-0 run highlighted by a finish on the inside from Tyshonne Tollie and a triple from Sariana Rodriguez to give FSW a 30-20 advantage. The teams traded buckets over the final three minutes of the half, sending the Bucs to the locker room with a double digit lead at 37-27.
The Bucs quickly extinguished any thought of a comeback for the Saints early in the third quarter as they bumped their lead to 17 four minutes in before taking a 61-46 lead at the end of three.
A red hot Rodriguez popped a pair from downtown to give the Bucs their biggest lead of the game at 20 and FSW threw things in cruise control from there, riding out an 81-64 win at the final horn.
The biggest difference in the game came in the paint where FSW outrebounded the Saints 51-26, including 19 offensive rebounds to just 17 defensive rebounds for Santa Fe. Rodriguez exploded for 22 points on 8-16 shooting while Jayla Murray and Macarena Retamales both put up double-doubles, Murray with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Retamales with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.
FSW improves to 19-4 on the year with the win while Santa Fe drops to 10-12.
The Bucs will have the week off before taking the court again next Saturday at home against Hillsborough where they will look to pick up their 20th win of the year and clinch the top spot from the Southern Conference for the upcoming Region VIII Tournament.