MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Florida Tech women's basketball team earned the No. 7 spot in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament this weekend, and will compete on Wednesday, Feb. 28, in the quarterfinal round against the No. 2 seeded Tritons. 

Florida Tech (11-15, 8-12 SSC) will return to the tournament after falling to Eckerd, 77-56 in the 2017 SSC Championship game. The postseason berth now marks Florida Techs 10th consecutive Sunshine State Conference Tournament appearance, a run that began during the 2008-2009 season against Eckerd. Over the 10-year span, FIT has squared off against EC four times, which includes this Wednesday's quarterfinal matchup. In the tournament series, the Tritons currently lead the Crimson and Gray, 2-1.

During regular season conference play over the past 11 years, FIT currently sits five wins behind Eckerd with a 10-15 record. Included in that record are the two losses that came earlier this season, where the Tritons managed to take both home and away games against the Panthers. When comparing the two teams during this seasons contests, Florida Tech was bested by the Tritons 47-35 in made field goals, 20-5 in three-pointers made, and 73-68 in total rebounds. Additionally, in the last two meetings, Eckerd has doubled the Panthers in points during the first quarter, scoring 25-11 and 25-12 respectively. 

Looking ahead to Wednesday's contest, Florida Tech will need a strong offensive and defensive performance out of its starters and bench players. Offensively inside the Panthers starting lineup, DeLise Williams leads the Crimson and Gray in scoring with 332 points and averages 12.8 per game. At the current time, Williams's numbers rank her 12th inside the SSC leaderboard, placing her just behind EC's leading scorer Kacie Juday, who has recorded 345 points this season. Defensively, the Panthers will need to generate turnovers and crash the boards, as the Tritons have scored 29 of their 139 points off of second-chance opportunities. Florida Techs leading rebounder is Kailyn Ebb, who has currently sits 13th inside the SSC with 160 rebounds, averaging 6.8 per game. 

In addition, FIT has had a productive bench this season, outscoring 19 of the 26 opponents faced, while accumulating 799 of the 1,601 points the team has scored this season.

Tip-off at the McArthur Center is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. E.T. in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Catch the action live on the SSC Digital Network, or head to FloridaTechSports.com for more information!