The Santa Fe College women's basketball team finished its regular season with a solid home victory against Florida Community College at Jacksonville on Monday.
The Saints (22-5, 11-1 Mid-Florida Conference), already MFC champions, defeated the Stars 73-50 and added one more victory to their season record.
"It was hard work," sophomore forward Nichelle Glover said. "It took time and staying focused. After the loss in Ocala (against Central Florida Community College on Feb. 7), we came out strong. We wanted it more than anyone in the MFC."
The Stars gained the lead soon after tipoff, but it only lasted a minute. The Saints quickly recovered with a basket from sophomore guard Quanisha Dixon. Free throws resulting from a technical foul on freshman guard Lanita Bartley added to the Saints lead.
The Stars were never able to regain the upper hand from the Saints.
SFC's defense held FCCJ to 5 points for most of the first half until a foul by freshman guard India Johnson allowed them to score. The first half finished with the Saints up by 10.
SFC played hard the second half and held back FCCJ's offense, which went 2 for 10 from behind the arc and 18 for 52 from the field.
"(It's) nice to finish strong and as champions," SFC coach Chanda Stebbins said. "I told the girls this doesn't happen often. It's a great feeling. It took working as a team."
The Saints offense and defense worked hand in hand and used rebounds and turnovers to rack up points. They scored 25 on turnovers alone.
Dixon was the game's leading scorer with 17 points, but she was closely followed by Glover and sophomore forward Jesse Edgar.
"This is a testament to hard work," assistant coach Gary Green said. "It was our goal to win the MFC. We did it in steps, game by game. (We) couldn't get too high or too low, stay humble and work hard and good things happen."
This is the first time since the 1984-1985 season that the women's team won its conference.
"We're happy," Bartley said. "We won it for Coach, and now we're ready for states."
