WINTER PARK, Fla. (Women's Basketball) - Florida Tech advances to Sunshine State Conference Semifinals after a wild 73-70 win over Rollins College on Wednesday at Warden Arena. The win marks the Panthers second consecutive quarterfinal victory as they previously reached the league championship the year before. The result also snapped FIT's extensive losing streak to the Tars, going back 12 games to the 2011-12 campaign.
On the evening, the Crimson and Gray had four players land in double-digit scoring while shooting both 50 percent from the field and beyond the arc. Florida Tech's largest lead (7) came in the third quarter with 8:43 remaining, while handling the lead for a total of 28 minutes throughout the game.
Leading scorer for the Panthers was
Julie McCarthy with 18 points coupled by eight boards, three blocks, three steals, and one assist. Behind her was Delise Williams who almost recorded a triple-double with 17 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, and six steals. Other contributing players were
Gudlaug Juliusdottir with 14 points, two assists, two rebounds and
Tereza Sedlakova with 12 points, four boards, and one steal.
Trailing for a majority of the first quarter, FIT took control of the lead with 2:50 left to go and entered the second quarter up by one. Although handling the entire second period, Florida Tech battled hard in the remaining minutes to head into half up by five.
Turning the corner, persistent defense and offensive efforts were enough to bring Rollins to tie the score at 47 after a shot from behind the arc. Heading into the fourth, the game remained in close quarters with the Tars only trailing by one.
With each team striding for the final leg, both FIT and Rollins exchanged buckets before the Tars took the lead by two with 5:07 on the clock. Responding quick, Sedlakova bagged an "And 1" to regain the Panthers' lead 60-59. Florida Tech never looked back from there, holding a lead of five within the final seconds of the game. In a desperate need to score, the Tars added another bucket to the scoreboard but a combined effort from Williams and McCarthy at the line put the Panthers in the driver seat and sealed the deal 73-70.
Up next, No. 6 seed Florida Tech will travel to Daytona Beach for a battle against No. 2 seed Florida Southern in the SSC Semifinals. The contest is set for Saturday, Mar. 4, at 2:30 p.m. ET at the ICI Center on Embry-Riddle's campus. For coverage of the event please visit FloridaTechSports.com.
