TAMPA, Fla. (Women's Basketball) – Florida Tech was limited to a season-low for points in its matchup with Sunshine State Conference rival Tampa and fell to the Spartans 66-53 Saturday in Tampa, Florida.
Gracie Doane led the Panthers with 12 points.
Shequana Harris and
Julie McCarthy each racked up eight points and eight rebounds and combined for 8-of-26 shooting in the loss.
Kareese Johnson added six points while
DeLise Williams chipped in five points and six assists.
Elena De Alfredo paced Tampa with 19 points to go along with a game-high nine rebounds and five assists. Karma Jeremie notched 12 points and seven boards and Griffin Dempsey finished with 11 points.
FIT struggled from the field in the loss, making just 37.3 percent (22-of-59), including 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from long range. The Spartans, on the other hand, knocked down 53.2 percent of their shots (25-of-47) and 47.4 percent (9-of-19) beyond the arc. Both teams hauled in 32 rebounds and the Panthers had three less turnovers in the game, 9-12.
Florida Tech jumped out to a 6-2 advantage at the 4:31 mark of the first but was outscored the rest of the quarter and went into the second tied 11-11. The teams went back-and-forth in the second quarter and, after a three-pointer by UT's Teresa Kucera with 12 seconds remaining, the Spartans took a 31-30 lead into the break.
A 12-0 run to kick off the third gave Tampa a 43-30 lead with 2:11 left in the period. The Panthers ended the quarter with a pair of baskets and went into the fourth trailing 43-35. UT built its advantage to 50-40 two minutes into the frame and led by double-digits the remainder of the game until the final seconds ran off the clock.
The Panthers return to action with a pair of non-conference bouts before the holidays as part of the Palm Beach Atlantic Holiday Classic in West Palm Beach, Florida. FIT opens the event against No. 5 Bellarmine on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 1:30 p.m. ET and then closes out the year against Shaw on Monday, Dec. 19, at 12:30 p.m. Links to live coverage will be made available at FloridaTechSports.com.
