MELBOURNE, Fla. – For the first time since February 26, 2020, Florida Tech women's basketball invited a competitor to Melbourne as they hosted the Barry Buccaneers. The Panthers mounted an impressive second-half comeback that gave them a 76-66 revenge win.  
 
Five Crimson and Gray members registered double-digit points with Lina Stranger-Johannessen's 18 points being the team's high mark. Strange-Johannessen and Fanny Hakanson grabbed the game-high in rebounds at eight while Hakanson led the game with seven assists. On the defensive side of the ball, Hakanson and Severine Uggen were menaces as each tallied three steals.
 
The beginning of the game was a back and forth affair for the first five minutes of the contest as a Jamielyn Jarvis bucket tied it up at 7-7. However, the final half of the first saw the Bucs close out the quarter on an 11-0 run before a Fanny Paulin triple with only a few seconds left on the clock made it 18-10.
 
The Panthers managed to make it a three-point contest a minute and a half into the second period but a 15-2 Barry run over the next five and a half minutes gave Florida Tech its largest deficit of the contest at 34-18. However, a John Reynold's timeout helped quash the Bucs momentum and in turn transfer it to his team as they finished the half on an 8-0 run and made it a 34-26 contest.
 
The second half began as the first half ended with Tech having the hot hand as a 10-2 run over the first two and a half minutes brought it even at 36-36 thanks to a Hakanson trey ball. From there the teams battled for control throughout the final seven and half minutes. During this time, the lead changed hands three times and at the buzzer, Florida Tech was down 49-45.
 
The final 10 minutes of play was all Florida Tech as they outscored Barry, 31-17. This began early as three quick triples gave Tech back the lead, 54-49, and this time they never gave it back. Over the final seven minutes of the game, the women steadily grew their lead up to 12 with less than 50 seconds remaining. But a late-game Bucs surge brought it back within seven points before Zoe Murphy iced the game with three made free throws that gave the Panthers a 76-66 victory.


Florida Tech will look to move to 3-2 on the season next Wednesday, February 17 when they head back to Lakeland, Florida for the rubber game that will determine the season series against the Mocs of Florida Southern. The opening tip for this contest is set for 6 pm ET in the George W. Jenkins Field House.
 
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