BlueWave women took to the road headed to Ocala, FL for their first trip of conference action.
On paper the Patriot and BlueWave matchup seemed to predict a great game ahead. College of Central Florida took the home court advantage in their first game of conference play as they came out the gate hitting the first three baskets. Coach Wooten called a timeout to refocus her team and regroup. Freshman Kayla Mansell answered back knocking down some key shots, four of which were three pointers in the first half. With both teams headed to the locker room FSCJ held the lead 36-30 knowing there was a fight ahead.
FSCJ came back out and won the third quarter and remained on top into the fourth. The BlueWave led by as many as ten points before the game took some turns. FSCJ freshman Jazmine Williams sparked her team when several of her back door cuts resulted in strong finishes at the baskets. College of Central Florida answered back and began a solid exchange of baskets. With the regulation time counting down and less than one minute left on the clock the score was tied 62-62. FSCJ aggressively defended the basket creating a scramble for the ball that ultimately ended up in the hands of Patriots Madi Toft. Toft converted her opportunity into a three-pointer. Coach Wooten quickly called a timeout to set her team up for the last shot with 28.3 seconds remaining in regulation. Mansell took the last shot with 4.6 remaining on the clock. Unfortunately, FSCJ, was called for a shot clock violation because the officials ruled that the ball didn't hit the rim and wient out of bounds. The BlueWave went on to win the game in overtime by a score of 79-74. FSCJ out-scored the Patriots 17-12 to secure the win.
Florida State College at Jacksonville had four players score in double-figures for the BlueWave. Freshman point guard Kayla Mansell scored a season-high 22 points, Gift Sampson added 18 points while pulling down 11 boards and handing out 7 assists for a double-double. Monique Bryant and Jazmine Williams had 13 points a piece. FSCJ will return to action on Saturday January 19th when they travel to Daytona State College for a 2:00pm start.
Sidenote:
The BlueWave team took a picture with Owner/Coach Renee Bobb of the Music City Icons, a Women's Semi-Professional Basketball Team (WBCBL) out of Nashville, TN. Coach Bobb congratulated the team on a game well played and shared some words of wisdom the ladies. Bobb encouraged the FSCJ BlueWave to always play with purpose and to commit to being their best in practice, in games. She went on to remind them to continually work on their individual game. Not only did she remain them how important their academics are, but that they should always be prepared to perform because they never know who are watching.