LAKELAND, Fla. (Women's Basketball) – After winning all three matchups against Sunshine State Conference rival Florida Southern a year ago, Florida Tech was unable to continue the success on Wednesday as the Panthers (7-7, 2-5 SSC) were handed an 87-73 defeat to the hot-shooting Moccasins (11-4, 7-1 SSC) on the road at Jenkins Fieldhouse.
Following a one-game absence,
Shequana Harris came back to lead FIT in scoring with 23 points.
DeLise Williams had an all-around effort with 19 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds.
Tereza Sedlakova chipped in 12 points and five boards.
Camille Giardina led all scorers with 24 points while Gianna Vastola finished with a double-double on 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jensen Blassage added 14 points, six boards, three steals and two assists in the win.
Florida Southern knocked down 49.2 percent from the field and made 5-of-11 from long range and 20-of-22 from the charity stripe. FIT, on the other hand, shot 46.4 percent and hit 3-of-12 three-pointers and 18-of-25 at the line. The Mocs also controlled the rebounding battle 42-25.
In a tightly contested first quarter, Florida Tech found itself leading 14-11 after a pair of free throws by Williams with 1:35 left. However, the Mocs closed the period scoring the final six points to take a 17-14 edge.
FSC continued its run in the second, building a 31-21 advantage over the Panthers with 3:58 remaining in the half. A 62.5 percent shooting performance in the quarter helped the Mocs' balloon their lead to 14 points, 46-32, as the teams departed for the locker rooms.
A 16-6 run by FSC to open the second half gave the Mocs a 24-point lead at the 4:14 mark of the third. The Panthers cut the deficit to 16 with 1:56 left in the quarter but went into the fourth trailing by 19, 68-49.
Florida Tech decreased the margin to 13 midway through the final stanza but was unable to muster up enough offense the rest of the way as FSC cruised to the 14-point victory.
The Panthers will look to earn their first road win of the season on Saturday, Jan. 14, when they travel to West Palm Beach to square off with the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish at 2 p.m. ET. Links to live coverage will be available at FloridaTechSports.com.
