BILLINGS, Mont. – The Florida Tech women's basketball began its 38
th season on Friday night at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic against Minnesota State-Mankato. The Mavericks looked every bit of their preseason #2 national ranking, leading from start to finish in a 83-44 victory over the Panthers.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 44, #2 Minnesota State-Mankato 83
Records: Florida Tech (0-1, 0-0 SSC), Minnesota State-Mankato (1-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Location: Alterowitz Gymnasium| Billings, Mont.
FIRST QUARTER:
• The Mavericks opened the game on a 12-0 run, fueled in part by a defense that caused four Panther turnovers in the first four minutes. Emily Herzberg and Emily Russo powered the opening spurt by each contributing four points.
• Tech wouldn't get on the board until the 5:50 mark through a
Breazia Robinson layup.
• An
Emily Acampora three would shrink the deficit to 12-6 with 4:15 left in the opening frame.
• Minnesota State would respond with a 7-0 run courtesy of a Grace Mueller layup, a Hannah Herzig three and a Destinee Burch jumper.
• Florida Tech would end their 3:20 scoring drought with an
Olivia Stephens jumper.
SECOND QUARTER:
• The two teams traded buckets to open the quarter before Florida Tech close to within six points through a 7-2 run.
• A
Divine Guthrie jumper would start the surge, a
Sarah Liberatore layup continued it and a
Lina Stranger-Johannessen three would lead to a Mavericks timeout at the 5:33 mark.
• Minnesota State proceeded to close out the half on a 15-0 run of their own that was powered by six points from Burch.
THIRD QUARTER:
• MSU extended their lead to start the second half courtesy of a layup from Hannah Herzig
• The Crimson and Gray found their first points of the half through a Stephens jumper just over a minute.
• The two teams would trade baskets over the next four minutes with Liberatore, Stranger-Johannessen and Farah Shabaan providing the points for the Panthers.
• Florida Tech held Minnesota State to just one field goal over the final four minutes of the quarter while Liberatore and Shabaan would each add buckets.
FOURTH QUARTER:
• Mackenzie Schweim's three-pointer to extend the MSU lead to 60-33 would be the only basket by either team over the first two and a half minutes of the fourth.
• Layups from
Tai Roberts and Stranger-Johannessen would see the Panthers cut into the deficit.
• A Lilly Nuytten three-point play and six points from Natalie Bremer around a Stranger-Johannessen layup would see the Minnesota State lead reach 31.
• The Mavericks finished the game on a 14-6 run with a Roberts three, Shabaan jumper and Stranger-Johannessen free throw accounting for the Florida Tech scoring.
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
• Stranger-Johannessen led the Panthers with 12 points, she also added three rebounds and two steals.
• Liberatore provided 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
•
Kyandra Poitier grabbed a team-high five rebounds and three assists in her Panther debut.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
• This was the first ever meeting between the Panthers and Mavericks.
• Tech finished the game shooting 31.1% (19-61) from the field, 27.3% (3-11) from beyond the arc, and 50% (3-6) on free throws.
• Minnesota State shot 50.7% (34-67) in the contest, 23.8% (5-21) from the three-point range, and 52.6% (10-19) at the line.
• MSU held the advantage in rebounds (43-37), points in the paint (46-22), fast break points (10-2), points off turnovers (35-11), second chance points (13-7) and bench points (28-21).
UP NEXT: Florida Tech returns to action tomorrow for Day Two of the D2CCA Tipoff Classic, where they'll face Minot State. Tip-off is set for 9 P.M.
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.
