ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Wrapping up the 2017-2018 season, No. 7 seed Florida Tech (11-16) dropped a 62-45 decision to No. 2 seed Eckerd Tritons (22-6) during the SSC Quarterfinals round at the McArthur Center on Wednesday night.
Running the Crimson and Gray offense, junior
Kailyn Ebb knocked down eight points and recorded a team-high six boards. After tonight's outing, Ebb moves up to the 11th spot in the SSC for rebounding with a total of 166. Junior
Tereza Sedlakova and senior
Tanease Richardson pitched in with eight points each, with Richardson registering five rebounds.
As a team, Florida Tech shot 28.3 percent from the floor, 10.5 percent from behind the arc, and 50 percent from the charity stripe. The Panthers ended the season beating their rivals once more in points from the bench, as FIT held a 25-16 edge over the Tritons. Additionally, Florida Tech converted 18 Eckerd turnovers into 14 points.
In the first quarter, the Tritons jumped out to a 14-6 run to close the first period ahead, 19-10. In the second stanza,
Gracie Doane sank a 3-pointer at the 6:07 mark to close the gap for FIT, 23-19. However, Eckerd set the tone once again, outscoring the Panthers 12-4 in a five-minute span to enter the half ahead, 35-23.
Returning from intermission the Panthers rallied back, draining back-to-back baskets to bring the deficit to single-digits, 35-27. However, the St. Petersburg lineup kept rolling down the court, holding the Crimson and Gray scoreless for three straight minutes to enlarge its lead, 45-27.
In the third with 4:43 left to play, the SSC rivals exchanged points, but the Panthers struggled to fill the gap and eventually entered the final stanza behind, 51-37.
In the final period, Eckerd knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers in the first 3:39 minutes of action to overlap the Melbourne squad, 60-39. For the remainder of the quarter, Florida Tech struggled to shorten the Tritons stretch, sinking solely three baskets to end the game, 62-45.
For more info, fans can visit FloridaTechSports.com.
