January 28, 2026
Balanced Effort Propels Bucs Over Hawks
Five players scored in double figures for the Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers and the Bucs held the visiting Hillsborough Hawks to just 31% shooting as FSW got past the Hawks 65-61 in a key Citrus Conference game Wednesday night in Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
FORT MYERS, Fla.- Five players scored in double figures for the Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers and the Bucs held the visiting Hillsborough Hawks to just 31% shooting as FSW got past the Hawks 65-61 in a key Citrus Conference game Wednesday night in Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
Both sides were a little bit slow getting going early on with Hillsborough leading it just 7-6 midway through the first quarter, but the Bucs got it going from there as Destinie Gordon popped a three from the top of the key and Arielle Marc followed suit to put FSW up 12-7 with 3:30 to go in the period. The three point barrage continued for the Bucs as Elina Briede got into the act with a triple late in the quarter and after one it was FSW leading Hillsborough 19-15.
The Bucs scored the first five points of the second quarter to push their lead to double digits, but went scoreless over the next two minutes as Hillsborough climbed back to within four at 24-20 midway through the period. The Bucs got back on track and padded their lead to 10 before settling for a 37-31 advantage as the teams headed to the break at half.
A pair of slick moves from Delfina Cergneux on the inside started the second half for the Bucs, but FSW went scoreless over the next 6:17 and watched their lead evaporate from eight to just one at 41-40 with 2:38 to go in the third. Briede and Amelia Williams found buckets on drives to the hoop to stop the drought and at the end of three complete quarters of action it was FSW leading the Hawks by four, 47-43.
Just 41 seconds into the fourth the Hawks drew even and it wasn't until an old fashioned three point play from Williams that the Bucs took the lead back by three. It was nip and tuck through the middle of the period as the Bucs and Hawks took turns with the lead until they found themselves all tied up at 61 with 1:08 to go. Another three point play from Williams gave the Bucs the lead back and a pair of defensive stops sealed the win for FSW from there as they closed out a 65-61 victory over the Hawks.
The Bucs shot 44% overall on the night while holding Hillsborough to just 31% from the field. Five players scored in double figures for FSW including Williams and Briede who paced the team with 13, both off the bench. Gordon chalked up a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards while Bishop and Marc both joined her with 11 a piece.
FSW takes over second place in the league standings at 7-3 while improving to 14-8 overall on the year. Hillsborough suffers a setback to fall to 11-9 overall and 5-4 in conference play.
The Bucs now hit the road for four straight, starting Saturday when they travel to Melbourne to take on Citrus Conference rival Eastern Florida in a 2 PM tip from Titan Field House.