SAINT LEO, Fla. (Women's Basketball) - Despite getting off to a fast start and leading for more than 31 minutes against Saint Leo on the road, Florida Tech was unable to keep the momentum going late in the contest and the Panthers fell to the Lions 70-65 in Sunshine State Conference action Saturday night.
DeLise Williams led FIT with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Gudlaug Juliusdottir recorded 13 points and six assists, while
Tereza Sedlakova chipped in nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Chelsy Springs paced SLU with a double-double on 21 points and 11 rebounds. Ragen Dotson and Asia Royster added 16 and 12 points, respectively.
Both teams struggled from the field in the contest with the Panthers outshooting the Lions 39.1 percent to 36.1 percent. FIT also controlled the rebounding department in the game 57-33. However, 21 turnovers and a 6-of-18 performance at the charity stripe erased the Panthers' positive efforts in the game and contributed to their loss.
It was back-and-forth early one in the contest but a 9-0 run near the end of the first quarter gave FIT a 21-10 advantage heading into the second period. The Lions came roaring back, outscoring the Panthers 23-12 to tie the game at 33-33 as the teams went into halftime.
Florida Tech picked up the pace in the third, limiting SLU to just three buckets while building its lead to as much as 11, 50-39, on a free throw by Sedlakoa with 1:42 left in the stanza. The Panthers would continue to lead the ball game up until the 3:53 mark of the fourth quarter when Spring converted an offensive put-back to give Saint Leo a 62-61 advantage.
Williams' answered for FIT, completing a three-point play and handing her team a slim 64-62 advantage with 3:23 remaining in the fourth. However, the Lions' defense stepped it up and stifled the Panthers' offense the rest of the way, allowing the SLU to stage a 8-1 run over the final 3:06 of play and steal the contest by a five-point margin.
Florida Tech will look to get back on track Wednesday, Feb. 15, when the Panthers return to the Clemente Center to host SSC foe Lynn. Tip off for the contest is set for 5:30 p.m. ET. Fans can access live coverage of the action at FloridaTechSports.com/live.
