MELBOURNE, Fla. - Despite second and third quarter runs, Florida Tech (2-4, SSC 1-2) was unable to overlap Eckerd (7-1, SSC 3-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Charles and Ruth Clemente Center.

Leading the Panthers offense in scoring, Markeema Crawford tallied 12 points, followed by four rebounds, two steals and one assist. Behind her, Kailyn Ebb hosted an impressive day on the hardwood after going 3-for-3 from the field for eight points, five rebounds, and two steals. On the year, the senior forward tallies a .577 field goal percentage, shoots .667 percent from the line, and sits first on the team with 34 rebounds, averaging 5.7 per game. Additionally, the Accokeek product has seven steals on defense, which is second best inside the Panthers lineup. 

Other contributors on offense were Gracie Doane (8 points) and DeLise Williams, who posted nine points off a 3-for-5 performance to go with two rebounds.

As a team, Florida Tech struggled behind the arc during the first half, combining for 20 percent shooting. Throughout the afternoon outing however, the Panthers shot 42.3 in field goals and went 71.4 percent from the free throw line.

Opening the first period, Eckerd jumped out to 8-1 lead after scoring back-to-back 3-pointers followed by good layup inside the paint. From there, the Panthers only scored three points before the Tritons took a 30-second uncontested run that stretched their lead, 18-4. For the remainder of the first, the St. Petersburg lineup went on an additional two runs that allowed Florida Tech to score three times before the half ended, 25-11. 

Into the second quarter, the Panthers contested the Tritons defense with a run of their own, scoring seven points in just two minutes of play. The span began with a 3-point play from Williams, who made her free throw after being fouled on a good layup inside the paint. Following her momentum, Ebb scored consecutive buckets from the free throw line and drained a jumper inside the paint to close the gap, 27-18. In what turned out to be FIT's best quarter, Eckerd would only go on to score seven points before intermission with the Panthers trailing by nine. 

Out of the half, play remained fairly even between both sides, with Florida Tech putting up 16 points to Eckerd's 15. The Melbourne based lineup had six points come off its bench and was allowed four second chance opportunities. 

In the fourth, the Panthers gave an early effort off Williams's two free throws to shorten the gap against EC, but fell short after the Tritons picked up eight points to bring the lead to 16. Between the 7:37 and 3:40 minute marks, Florida Tech battled to close the deficit and brought the difference to 10 on a jumper by Gudlaug Juliusdottir. However, Eckerd refused to relinquish the lead and closed the game 74-59.

FIT is back at it this Tuesday against Warner University. Teams will tip-off at 5 p.m. ET!

For more information, please visit FloridaTechSports.com!