MELBOURNE, Fla..-  The Florida Tech women's basketball team hosted the Clayton State Lakes on Tuesday at noon for the second day of the Florida Tech Holiday Classic which saw the Panthers come away with their fifth win of the season.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 72, Clayton State 57
Records: Florida Tech (5-9, 0-3 SSC) | Clayton State (2-7, 0-0 PBC)
Location: Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.
 
FIRST QUARTER 

• Clayton State was the first to get on the board with a jumper from Zoe Wiltz inside the arch before Tai Roberts of the Panthers hit a three 0:28 into the game to give the Panthers the 3-2 lead. 
• It would be the first and only lead change of the game.
• Tech and the Lakers exchanged baskets as Clayton State trailed 9-8 with 5:24 to go in the first.
• An 11-point run by the Crimson and Gray extended their lead 20-8.
• The Panthers big run was highlighted by five straight points by from Dalma Ehmann.
• Two made free throws from Jadah White of Clayton State stopped Techs run until Kyandra Poiter recorded a layup with 22-10 remaining before the second half.
• Neither team would score again until 0:20 left in the quarter as Breazia Robinson scored her first basket of the game bringing the Panthers lead to 24-10 as time expired on the clock.
   

SECOND QUARTER

• Divine Guthrie kept the Panthers scoring run alive, hitting a two-point jumper 35-seconds into the quarter.
• Sariya Henry ended the Lakers drought, scoring four points off two layups with 5:59 to go.
• Lina Stranger-Johannessen drove in for a layup and made the and-1 for off a fouled, followed by Sara Liberatore tallying a layup 22 seconds later to put the Panthers ahead 32-16.
• Jada Alston would score four points in a row following baskets from Jasmyn Burts and Sariya to give Clayton state an eight-point run to bring the Lakers deficit to within 10 points, 32-22.
• Three-point plays from Emily Acampora and Roberts, along with two made free throws by Poitier extended the crimson and grays lead, 40-22 with 0:28 left before the half.
• As time expired Wiltz would give Clayton State the final points of the quarter, making it a 40-24 Florida Tech lead entering the half. 

 
THIRD QUARTER 

• Five unanswered points by the Lakers would make it 40-29 before Liberatore would stop the run, off a jumper for two.
• After a three from Stranger-Johannessen and two made layups from Kyandra Poitier, Tech would go ahead 49-31.
• Burts stopped the Panthers run off a layup with 6:08 to go.
• Tech and the Lakers would exchange points to see the Panthers till ahead 56-40 as 2:42 remained in the quarter as Ehmann was the main highlight for the Panthers recording six of the Panthers points.
• With 2:16 remaining Tech would finish off the quarter on a six-point run as Robinson tallied five points from a layup, jumper and free throw as Kyandra Poitier closed out the quarter with a fast break layup to put Tech up 63-40.

 
FOURTH QUARTER

• Jadah Waite of Clayton State was the first to score in the fourth before Guthrie tallied a layup making it 65-42.
• Waite answered back with a three before Guthrie and Nina Blade exchanged free-throws as Tech still led 67-47 with 6:44 to go.
• The two teams continued to trade points as Acampora hit a three with 2:49 Left in the game making it 72-49.
• Clayton State rallied for six points off of four baskets as time expired to give the Panthers their fifth win of the season, 72-57.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Sarah Liberatore and Dalma Ehmann led the Panthers with 11 points each.
• Ehmann went 5-5 for a perfect 100% from the field.
• Liberatore and Kyandra Poitier led the Pantehrs with eight rebounds each, Liberatore with five defensive and three offensive while Poitier split her rebounds with four offensive and defensive.
• Lina Stranger-Johannessen posted eight points with five assists, five rebounds and two blocks.
• Emily Acampora nine points all came from behind the arch.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• The Panthers are now 2-1 all-time against Clayton State.
• The two teams last meeting occurred on November 16, 2019.
• Tech's win against the Lakers came back in a 75-61 victory back on November 28, 2014 in West Palm Beach.
• Tech finished the game shooting 48.2% (27-56) from the field, 31.3%(5-16) from beyond the arc, and 65% (13-20) on free throws.
• Clayton State shot 37.3% (22-59) in the contest, hit 7.1% (1-14)  from three-points range, and 80% (12-15) from the line.
• The Panthers out rebounded the Lakers (43-29), points in the paint (40-28), second chance points (19-6) and points from the bench (36-17).

 
UP NEXT:
The Panthers will return home on Saturday, January 6^th against Florida Southern at 2:00 P.M. at the Clemente Center.

For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech women's basketball, 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.