Posted: Dec 09, 2022
FORT MYERS, Fla.- Florida SouthWestern freshman Blessing King put together one of the best performances in Buccaneer history Friday night, racking up 28 points and 19 rebounds as FSW outlasted Chipola 90-84 in a day one shootout at the Rudolph's Roundup Tournament at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
The Bucs came out ready to go against the Indians, jumping out to an early 7-2 lead on the back of Aaliyah Williams before extending their advantage to 16-5 at the 3:00 mark of the first quarter on an offensive rebound and putback from Blessing King. Chipola cut into the lead before the end of the first quarter, but after 10 minutes of action, it was FSW 20 and Chipola 12.
Kiana Wilson put together a solid 30 second stretch early in the second with five straight points to extend the Bucs lead to 29-16, but a 16-4 run for Chipola over the next three minutes had the Indians back in it and down just one, 33-32 midway through the period. Chipola eventually tied the score up at 36, but the Bucs finished the quarter strong, getting a late three point play from King to put them up 42-39 as the teams went to the locker room at the break.
The Bucs shot 59% from the field in the half, but were hampered by 13 turnovers which led to 15 Indian points.
Natalia Tondi got to the basket on back to back drives early in the third to push the Bucs lead back to seven and midway through the quarter FSW's lead was back to double digits at 56-45. King continued to do her thing on the inside, picking up her 13th rebound and 20th point of the game on a putback with just under a minute left in the third, giving the Bucs a 66-56 lead as the teams took the court for the fourth.
Chipola showed some fight in the fourth and final period as they trimmed the Bucs lead down to four with 9 of the first 12 points of the quarter, but FSW answered, scoring 11 straight, including six straight from King to extend their lead to the largest of the game at 80-65 with 4:00 to go. Just when it looked like the Indians were done, Chipola put up one last fight, getting back to within just five in the final minute before the Bucs finished them off 90-84 at the final horn.
King was a monster for the Bucs, putting up 28 points and 19 rebounds in the victory. Williams added 16 points and 9 rebounds in 38 minutes of work while Tondi had her season high with 13.
FSW shot 49% in the field in the win while connecting on 31 of 37 free throws, their most freebies since a February 2019 win over Eastern Florida.
FSW snaps a three game losing straight to improve to 6-5 on the year while Chipola's early season skid continues and reaches four as they fall to 5-4.
The Bucs are back in action on Saturday at 5:00 against Denmark Tech who dropped a 50 point decision to Indian River on Friday.