The magic number was 11 on the night. St. Thomas University (11-0, 5-0 SUN) picked up their 11th win of the season defeating the University of Fort Lauderdale (1-4) at home in a break from Sun Conference action. The game on Wednesday evening tied the longest win streak in the Candace Walker era and the best start in program history.
After a slow start in the first quarter, the Bobcats trailed for the first time this season after the initial 10 minutes. Fort Lauderdale came out on a mission scoring the first basket and taking an 8-2 lead and forcing a Bobcat timeout. Kasey Gagan helped lead the charge to make it a one possession game knocking down a pair of free throws to make it 13-11. The quarter ended 21-18 in favor of the Eagles.
The second quarter so more of the Bobcat basketball that we have seen this season with a 22-12 point advantage to flip the scoreboard before the end of the half. St. Thomas shot 64-percent from the field to gain some stability. After the Eagles scored the initial basket, Mya Victor came in hot with back to back buckets to bring the game within one. Marta Franco knocked down a couple of free throws for the lead and added a jumper to gain some space on the board.
Gagan finished the half with another double digit outing in points with 11, 10 of them came in the first quarter.
Coming out of the half, STU returned to handle business. After allowing a jump shot in the opening possession, that would be the only basket Fort Lauderdale would get for the quarter. STU went on a 25-0 run to finish the quarter. Brooke Bogatz took over in the third scoring nine points to lead the way. The defense locked in to force 13 turnovers with seven steals.
The game closed out with another defensive gem allowing just four points, two coming off free throws. The bench came to life in Paige McDonald and Jayde Johnson who had seven points each in the final frame.
On the stat sheet, STU showed complete dominance with a strong second half. The Bobcats led in rebounds 54-37, doubling offensive rebounds, bench points 44-11, blocks 8-1, steals 17-8, points in the paint 46-16, points off turnovers 50-11, and second chance points 18-4. Six players were in double figures, three scoring off the bench. This is the second largest margin of victory of the season.
The defense has picked up their 11th and 12th quarters of under double digit points scored from the opponents. In the 11th win, three players scored 11 points, and 11 players played and all record one-point.
St. Thomas will now take the week off and get ready to host Mount Vernon Nazarene from the Fernandez Family Center Gym on Thursday, December 15 at 1 p.m.
Original source can be found here.
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