MELBOURNE, Fla. - Ending the home stretch for the 2017-2018 season, Florida Tech (11-15, SSC 8-12) had a bittersweet outing, as the Panthers saluted their 2018 Senior Class prior to an outing that saw FIT drop an 87-73 decision to the Nova Southeastern Sharks (13-13, SSC 9-11) on Saturday afternoon at the Clemente Center.

Finishing her home career on the Clemente hardwood, senior DeLise Williams led the Crimson and Gray in double-digit scoring with 15 points on a 5-for-15 shooting effort that was coupled with five rebounds. Also joining in double-digits, fellow senior Markeema Crawford hustled her way to 11 points for FIT, while Kailyn Ebb tallied her first double-double of the season after knocking down 12 points to go with a team-high 10 boards. Rounding out the stat leaders, junior Gracie Doane registered 11 points on a 3-for-7 shooting effort from downtown.

As a team, Florida Tech shot 36.1 percent from the floor, 27.8 percent from behind the arc, and 61.5 percent from the charity strip. The Crimson and Gray also held a 40-28 edge over the Sharks in points from the bench, the highest recorded in the season. Additionally, FIT transformed 20 NSU turnovers into 23 points.

Starting the game, the Sharks held FIT scoreless for three straight minutes for an early 12-2 lead, until Crawford drained back-to-back baskets to close the gap, 12-6. At the 4:50 mark, Ebb and Williams combined to reduce the NSU stretch to eight, but the Sharks quickly increased their lead to close the first frame ahead, 22-16. In the second quarter, Nova outscored the Panthers with a 16-9 run to enter the locker rooms ahead, 38-25.

Returning from intermission, Florida Tech struggled to reduce the margin by single-digits due to a 14 -5 run by NSU that allowed the Sharks to jump ahead, 64-40 as the teams entered the final stanza. In the fourth quarter however, the Panthers paced nine consecutive points and held NSU blank for two entire minutes to cut the deficit by nine. From there, FIT could not find a suitable run to shorten the gap and eventually fell, 87-73.

The Panthers will now wait for the SSC Quarterfinal brackets to be announced, as times, dates, and opponent are still to be determined.

For more info, please visit FloridaTechSports.com.