MELBOURNE, Fla. (Women's Basketball) – Amanda Allen led four Panthers in double figures and Florida Tech pulled off a hard fought 71-69 Sunshine State Conference victory over Saint Leo on Wednesday at the Clemente Center.
 
Allen paced FIT with a season-best 12 points and three rebounds. Three Panthers finished with 10 points for Florida Tech. DeLise Williams notched 10 points, eight boards, five assists and three steals. Tereza Sedlakova added 10 points with seven rebounds and Gudlaug Juliusdottir rounded out the Panthers in double digits with 10 points, five assists and two steals.
 
Nikira Hooks led Saint Leo with a game-high 24 points and four boards and Chelsy Springs chipped in 21 points and eight rebounds. Gina Brierley contributed eight points and four boards for the Lions.
 
Florida Tech won despite being outshot in the game. The Panther made 40.9 percent and 6.3 percent from three-point range. SLU, on the other hand, hit 44.4 percent and 52.9 percent from beyond the arc.
 
FIT finished with a substantial edge in rebounding 45-27, including a 20-7 disparity on the offensive glass that turned into 24 second chance points for the Crimson and Gray.
 
The Lions jumped out to a 10-4 advantage just 3:33 into the contest. The Panthers responded and outscored SLU the rest of the quarter and went into the second tied at 17-17.
 
With the score 24-24 just past the midway point of the second period, the Panthers ensued on a 10-3 run the final 4:19 of the quarter and took a 34-27 advantage into halftime.
 
FIT continued to roll after halftime and saw its lead balloon to its largest of the game, 42-32, with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter.
 
However, the Lions clawed their way back and tied the game at 53-53 at the 8:23 mark of the fourth quarter. After five minutes of back and forth action, SLU regained the lead 62-61, their first time ahead since 5:19 left in the second quarter.
 
The Panthers responded though, outscoring the Lions 7-2 and retaking the lead 68-64 with 1:29 remaining. FIT would make 3-of-4 from the line the rest of the way and hold off SLU to earn its fourth SSC victory of the season.
 
Florida Tech continues conference play on Saturday as the Panthers visit the Rollins Tars for a 2 p.m. ET tipoff from the Alfond Sports Center in Winter Park. Fans can access the live coverage at FloridaTechSports.com.