Posted: Mar 03, 2025
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.- No team will head to the 2025 FCSAA Tournament hotter than the #12 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers as FSW won their eighth straight game Monday night, going on the road and defeating the Daytona State Falcons 78-52 to close the regular season 23-4.
The Bucs got off to a quick start, scoring the first six points of the game and holding Daytona off the scoreboard for the first four minutes of the contest. A jumper from Sarah Owona gave FSW a 16-9 lead and Samantha Serrano blew past the defense for a layup to make it 18-12 Bucs moments later. The Bucs went scoreless over the final 2:21 of the quarter and Daytona State went on a 9-0 run in the meantime to erase their deficit and take a 21-18 lead after one.
Serrano connected on a pair of threes early in the second to put the Bucs back in front and the FSW defense locked in from there, holding Daytona without a field goal for the final 9:11 of the half to storm into the locker room at the break with a 36-27 advantage.
Ivy Brown and Sarah Owona exploded for 10 points in a span of just 1:23 early in the third to open the Bucs lead to 50-34. FSW kept their distance from there and a late three from Serrano bumped the Bucs lead to 59-41 at the end of three quarters of action.
The Bucs defense dug their heels in again to start the fourth, holding Daytona to just two points over the first three minutes as they extended their lead to 67-43. Asiana Britt snuck behind the defense for an easy two to make it 74-52 and the Bucs put it in cruise control from there, going on to take it 78-52 to close out the regular season.
Owona put up her second straight 20 point game to lead the way for the Bucs while Serrano finished with 17 and Georgi Buzzetti posted a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The Bucs win their eighth straight to move to 23-4 overall on the year while setting a new program record with their 17th conference win as they finish their Citrus Conference slate at 17-1. Daytona's season comes to a close as they fall to 7-22 overall and 3-15 in Citrus Conference play.
FSW now turns their attention to the postseason where they will seek their first FCSAA Championship in program history. The madness will begin for the Bucs on March 12th in Niceville with the tournament bracket and FSW's first round opponent set to be released on Friday.