SAINT LEO, Fla. - On Wednesday night, Florida Tech (7-7, SSC 4-4) sparked on the hardwood of the Marion Bowman Activities Center, defeating the Saint Leo Lions (7-9, SSC 2-6) in an overwhelming double-digit decision, 85-52.

Bringing the heat for FIT, senior DeLise Williams totaled a team-high 16 points and snagged a game-high four steals. The guard also dished out two assists and pulled down a team-best seven rebounds. Williams, who scored in double figures for the eighth time this season, increased her seasonal scoring total to 174 points, which places her 15th in the SSC.         
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Joining in double-digit scoring, junior Gracie Doane sank 14 points on a 4-for-6 shooting effort from downtown to go with two assists in 14 minutes of action. Aniquah Swan, Tereza Sedlakova, Kailyn Ebb and Amanda Allen drained eight baskets each, with Swan tallying a 4-for-4 performance from the floor. 

As a team, Florida Tech shot 53.1 percent from the field, while holding Saint Leo to 32.7 percent shooting. The Panthers also out-scored the Lions 40-28 in bench points and tallied a game-high 57.1 percent shooting from behind the arc. Additionally, FIT scored 13 points off 17 Saint Leo turnovers. Cumulatively, the Crimson and Gray counted 46 boards, 10 assists and eight steals. 
 
FIT opened up quickly trading points with the Lions in a three-minute span, until a good layup by Williams tied things up at 7-7. From there, the Panthers jumped to a 6-0 advantage to lead, 13-7. In the closing minutes, the Crimson and Gray kept Saint Leo at distance to end the first stanza with a six-point margin, 22-14.

Back-to-back baskets from Juliusdottir and Williams sparked a 10-0 run for the Panthers, who knotted the score at 36-18 with 3:36 remaining in the second period. However, Saint Leo answered back with nine consecutive points over the next minute. With less than two minutes left, Doane closed the half with two buckets from behind the arc, and sent FIT into the locker room with a 44-27 advantage. 

Returning from the break, Saint Leo stopped the scoring streak for FIT, holding an 8-4 advantage for a seven-minute span. The Panthers responded with a pair of hoops by Amanda Allen and Aniquah Swan to trigger a 7-0 run, which ended with a 3-pointer by Allen to put Florida Tech ahead, 57-35 at the end of the third quarter. In the final period, the Panthers extended to a 31-point lead (79-48) with 2:22 on ticker. Although the Lions drained four more points, FIT's lead was too large to overcome, as the Melbourne squad walked away, 85-52.

The Panthers now return home to host SSC rival Tampa on Saturday, Jan. 13.  Tip-off in the Clemente Center is slated for 2 p.m. ET.

For tickets and live coverage of the event, please visit FloridaTechSports.com!