Posted: Jan 15, 2022
FORT MYERS, Fla.- Ronaltha Marc and Aaliyah Williams combined for 26 points off the bench and Tyshonne Tollie recorded her first double-double of the season as the #19 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers rolled over the Miami Dade Sharks 67-48 in Southern Conference action Saturday afternoon in Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
The turnover bug bit the Bucs hard early on and kept FSW from getting anything going in the first three minutes of the game as they trailed Miami Dade 7-2 to begin the contest. Slowly they worked their way back into the game, tying the score at 11 on a pair of free throws from Jayla Murray and going ahead 14-11 on a finish in the paint from Tyshonne Tollie. FSW went scoreless over the final 2:30 of the first and Miami Dade hit a late three, tying the score at 14 after 10 minutes of action.
The Bucs scored the first 10 points of the second quarter, holding the Sharks off the board until the 6:25 mark of the period to take a 10 point lead at 24-14. Miami Dade trimmed the Bucs lead back to four at the midway point of the period, but FSW outscored the Sharks 12-3 from there until the first half horn to give the Purple and Aqua a 40-27 lead into the break.
A good look from Sariana Rodriguez to Macarena Retamales got the Bucs an early two in the second half to open their lead to 17 and they held that advantage until late in the third when Ronaltha Marc picked off a pass and scored to make it 53-35 FSW after three quarters of play.
Six straight from Murray early in the fourth blew the game open to 61-35 in favor of FSW and the Bucs never looked back again. FSW threw it in cruise control over the final five minutes of the quarter, dribbling out a 67-48 win at the final horn.
Marc led the Bucs with 14 points in 20 minutes off the FSW bench while Aaliyah Williams chipped in 12 and posted a +28 in a reserve role. Tollie posted her first double-double of the 2021-2022 season, going for 11 points and 10 rebounds in the win. The game was sloppy at times as the two teams combined for 53 turnovers and just 42 field goals.
FSW finishes off the sweep of the first round of Southern Conference play, improving to 14-3 overall and 3-0 in league play. Miami Dade's tough season continues as the Sharks fall to 6-16 overall and 0-2 in conference action.
The Bucs will be off 11 days before their next Southern Conference contest on the road at Hillsborough but will sprinkle in a non-conference matchup next Saturday at St. Petersburg to fill their time.
