TAMPA, Fla. – Florida Tech women's basketball closed out its regular season with a trip across the state as they faced off with the Spartans of Tampa. The Panthers struggled in the contest as they lost 91-54.

Fanny Paulin led the team in scoring as she tallied 13 while Fanny Hakanson had a game-high in assists at six. Aiste Vaitekunaite was the Crimson & Gray's rebound leader with nine.
 
Florida Tech was the first team on the board as a Vaitekunaite layup made it 2-0 less than 40 seconds into the contest. Unfortunately, this was the team's only lead of the night as back-to-back Tampa threes made it a 6-2 contest. However, a quick four Panther points made it 6-6 but a Spartans' three swung it back in their favor and it stayed that way as they went on a 13-2 run over the next three minutes.  
 
The final four and a half minutes of the first saw Tech's deficit grow, as the score at the whistle was 29-13.
 
The Panthers opened the second quarter strong as a Paulin jumper and Lina Stranger-Johannessen three brought it back to an 11-point contest but then the teams began to go basket for basket. However, that changed halfway through the quarter as Tampa finished the half on a 13-2 run and this put Florida Tech down 50-26 entering the break.
 
The third was a back-and-forth affair but a few UT runs helped them extend their lead to 76-41 as the time expired.

The final 10 minutes began with Tech struggling as they were outscored 8-2 over the first 5:28. The rest of the quarter was much more even as the women went on an 11-7 run and this made it 91-54 at the buzzer.
 
The Crimson & Gray next contest takes place Tuesday, March 16, as the women head to West Palm Beach, Florida for their opening-round game of the Sunshine State Conference tournament. This contest against Palm Beach Atlantic begins at 6 pm ET in the Rubin Arena.
 
For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech women's basketball team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.