Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Royals traveled to St. Petersburg, Fla., over the holiday break to take part in the Eckerd College Classic at McArthur Center. Queens University of Charlotte lost 71-53 to Florida Southern College falling to 1-4 on the season, while the Mocs improve to 4-0 on the year.

Shonice Pettaway (Walstonburg, N.C., Greene Central) scored 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting in the loss leading all players on the court. She also collected seven rebounds. Shanel Sweet (Land O'Lakes, Fla., Land O' Lakes) and Melissa Thomas (Havelock, N.C., Havelock) were the next leading scorers with nine and eight points, respectively.  

The Mocs saw double-digit scoring from a trio of players. Michaela Hawling, Morgan Lamberg and Tracy Fosterling tallied 17, 14 and 12 points, respectively. Morgan recorded the only double-double of the afternoon snatching down a game-high 19 rebounds to go along with six assists.

At the break, the Royals trailed Florida Southern by two, 28-26, after a tight first half. The Mocs led 9-4 when a three-pointer scored by Pettaway brought the Royals to within two. About two minutes later she knocked down a bucket and a free-throw for three points giving Queens its first lead of the game at the 12:44 mark. Six lead changes would follow before the Royals held a three point lead, 24-21, after Sweet hit a jumper from behind the three-point line with 4:23 on the clock. Florida Southern's Lamberg then scored a lay-up fueling a 7-to-2 run by the Mocs giving them the lead at halftime.

The Royals connected on 10-of-31 shots in the first half, while the Mocs shot 40.6-percent from the floor. Florida Southern held a 20-12 advantage in the paint, while Queens scored nine points of the Mocs' 10 turnovers.

The Royals began the second half cold not scoring a field goal until the 12:47 mark. By that time, Florida Southern had built a 17 point lead on a 16-to-1 run. The Royals began to knock down shots trying to fight their way back into the game, but the Mocs strung together more short runs en route to the 18 point win over the Queens.

Queens was outscored 40-16 in the paint, but won the battle for points scored off turnovers netting 14 to Florida Southern's 11. 

Queens will play their final game of the Eckerd College Classic tomorrow afternoon against Eckerd at 3 p.m.