MELBOURNE, Fla.- The Lady Panthers faced #12 Tampa at home on Wednesday night in their first SSC matchup of the season. Tech battled head-to-head with the defending 2021 SSC Champions. Ultimately, the Panthers late rally wouldn't be enough to beat Tampa.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 75, Tampa 83
Records: Florida Tech (1-2, 0-1 SSC), #12 Tampa (7-0, 2-0 SSC)
Location: Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.

FIRST QUARTER 

• Tampa was on the board first with back-to-back layups.   
• Tech was able to respond quickly with a long two-pointer from Sarah Liberatore.  
• Tampa then went on a 7-2 run to push the lead to seven with 5:45 to go in the quarter.
• Makayla Daniels and Dalma Ehmann hit back-to-back jumpers to cut the lead to two.
•  A 7-0 run by the Spartans gave Tampa a nine-point lead.
• At the end of the first quarter, Tech would trail by eight.

SECOND QUARTER 

• Remingtyn Smith got the Panthers started with a layup and Aiste Vaitekunaite followed up with another layup.
• With 6:32 to go Liberatore hit one from beyond the arc and the Panthers only trailed by four, 26-22.
• The Spartans went on a 6-0 run to go up by double-digits for the first time in the game.
• The Panthers responded closing the gap and cutting the deficit to seven with a three-pointer from Vaitekunaite with 2:35 to go.
• Heading into the halftime, Tampa had the lead 41-34. 

THIRD QUARTER

• Both teams exchanged free throws before Vaitkeunaite hit a layup with 9:05 to go.
• Tampa went on a 9-2 run and the Spartans had a 13-point lead.
• A clutch three-pointer from Lina Stranger-Johannessen put the Panthers within five at the 2:45 mark.
• With 19 seconds to go, a steal and a fast break layup from Roberts pulled Tech within three, 56-53.   

FOURTH QUARTER

• A 5-0 run from the Spartans stretched the lead to seven.
• With 8:39 to go, Liberatore drove to the basket for a layup and was fouled for a chance at a three-point play. Liberatore made her free-throw to cut the deficit to five.
• Tampa raced down the court and hit a three-pointer
• At the 4:25 mark, Tampa was called for a technical fouled sending the Panthers to the line. Liberatore made two out of three free-throws and the Panthers were within three.
• Emily Acampora came up huge for the Panthers with a deep three pointer to tie the game at 68 with 4:13 to go.
• Roberts was fouled with 55 seconds to go. She made both of her free-throws to pull Tech within two.
• Back-to-back layups by Tampa put the Spartans ahead by four with 39 seconds to go.
• The Panthers attempted to crawl their way back into this game, but the Spartans would finish the game on a 7-3 run.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Liberatore led the way with a season high 17 points, three rebounds, three assists,
• Roberts added 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
• Vaitekunaite tallied 13 points, five rebounds, and one assist

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech is now 35-44 in the all-time series against Tampa. Tampa has won eight straight in this series.
• The Panthers shot 39.1% (27-69) from the field, 19% (4-21) from behind the three-point line, and 77.3% (17-22) from the free-throw line.
• Tampa shot 55.1% (27-49) from the field, including 50. % (5-10) from the three, and 75% (24-32) at the line.
• Tampa led in rebounds (40-31), fast break points (13-10), and bench points (21-17).
• Tech led in second chance points (7-4), and points in the paint (36-32), and steals (4-3).

UP NEXT: Florida Tech will be back at home on Saturday, Dec. 10 to face Florida Southern College. Tip-off is set for 5:30pm.

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