Box Score MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech women's basketball team were back in action on Wednesday night, welcoming Palm Beach Atlantic to the Clemente Center for a Sunshine State Conference matchup. While the game featured plenty of drama late and required a last-second defensive stop, the Panthers never trailed in earning a 78-76 victory for their consecutive league win.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 78, Palm Beach Atlantic 76
Records: Florida Tech (8-18, 3-12 SSC), Palm Beach Atlantic (13-11, 7-9 SSC)
Location:  Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.
 
FIRST QUARTER:

• The Panthers began the game on a 7-0 blitz over the first 1:56.
• A Breazia Robinson layup got Florida Tech on the board just over 20 seconds in. Following a turnover by PBA on their first possession, Tai Roberts' layup doubled the marigin. Just over a minute, Emily Acampora's steal and subsequent three led Palm Beach Atlantic to call their first timeout.
• Robinson added to the Tech advantage with a close-range basket at 6:40. She split a pair of free throws nearly a minute later to extend the lead to double digits. Her personal 5-0 run would be capped at 5:08 with another jumper.
• Roberts concluded the outburst just over a minute later to give the Crimson and Gray a 14-0 lead.
• Ashleigh Boulin broke the Sailfish's opening drought at the 3:40 mark with a three-point play to cut the deficit to 14-3.
• In what would prove to be a recurring theme of the game, PBA showed their resiliency through the remainder of the quarter as Ayuso sank a three and a jumper on consecutive possessions to bring Palm Beach Atlantic to within 16-10 inside the final minute of the quarter
• Sarah Liberatore's free throw with 28 seconds remaining closed the scoring for the quarter.
• Tech created eight points from five PBA turnovers in the first 10 minutes.

 
SECOND QUARTER:

• Roberts provided the first five points of the frame inside the first minute with a pair of free throws and a triple from the top of the key to put the Panthers back up by double digits.
• The Crimson and Gray reached as large as 18 points following Sarah Liberatore's layup at 6:03.
• The Sailfish were able to bring the deficit back into single digits thanks to a 9-0 run late in the quarter thanks in large part to five points from Kash Ayuso.
• Kyandra Poitier's free throw with 34 seconds remaining broke a three and a half minute scoring drought for Tech.
• Divine Guthrie gave the Panthers plenty of momentum going into the break as her three from just inside half court beat the halftime buzzer to make it 38-26.

THIRD QUARTER:

• Robinson started the second half for Florida Tech in much the same fashion she did the first, with a jumper inside the first 30 seconds. 
• The teams traded baskets over the next four minutes as the Panthers continued to nurse an 11-point lead.
• After an Ayuso three brought the Sailfish to within nine at 3:57, Acampora responded with a three of her own.
• The Crimson and Gray closed the quarter with a 14-3 run over the final 3:56, punctuated with a Guthrie three-point play on a tough layup.
• Acampora and Guthrie combined for nine of Tech's 14 points in that stretch.

 
 
FOURTH QUARTER:

• A pair of Brielle Marlow free throws and two Ayuso layups in the first 90 seconds shrunk the margin to 14.
• Out of a media timeout, Karyzma Pierre converted a layup and then got another quick layup from a Tech turnover to bring PBA within nine with a little over seven minutes to play.
• Robinson helped stem the tide on the Panthers' next possession by putting back a Liberatore miss.
• Palm Beach Atlantic continued to keep themselves in the game as their defense made life tough for the Crimson and Gray with a pair of Ayuso free throws cutting the lead to 66-62 with 5:43 remaining.
• Pierre's jumper with 4:26 left made it a one possession game at 66-64.
• On the ensuing inbound, Liberatore snuck behind the Sailfish press for an easy layup to give the Panthers some much needed breathing room.
• Following a missed three by Jillian Schenk, the rebound ricocheted out to Roberts, who found Olivia Stephens ahead of the defense with her for the layup.
• Acampora got layup of her own as the result of a PBA miss and Stephens critical putback after grabbing an offensive rebound put Florida Tech back up by eight with just over two minutes remaining.
• The Sailfish kept themselves alive thanks to an Ayuso layup, a turnover and a three-point play for Pierre to make it a 76-73 game with 56.1 remaining.
• Following an offensive foul, Palm Beach Atlantic had multiple chances to tie the game in the final seconds but Katelynn Hagy's three was short and after a timeout, Stephens secured the win with a steal and two free throws with four seconds remaining.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Sarah Liberatore continued her strong second half of the season by leading the Panthers in scoring with 17 points, shooting eight-of-nine at the free throw line.
• Tai Roberts added 15 points on five-of-nine shooting from the field with five rebounds and three assists.
• Emily Acampora provided 12 points four assists and three steals.
• Breazia Robinson contributed 11 points and four rebounds. 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech is now 30-9 all-time against Palm Beach Atlantic and 18-3 all-time vs. the Sailfish at home.
• The win broke a six-game losing streak against the Sailfish, with their last win being a 77-50 triumph on January 29, 2020 in West Palm Beach. This was their first win at home against PBA since a 64-60 victory on December 4, 2019.
• Tech finished the game shooting 49.0% (25-51) from the field, 50.0% (6-12) from beyond the arc, and 84.6% (22-26) on free throws.
• Palm Beach Atlantic shot 42.2% (27-64) in the contest, 33.3% (7-21) from the three-point range, and 75.0% (15-20) from the line.
• Florida Tech held the advantage in rebounds (33-31), points in the paint (36-30), fast break points (21-14), bench points (17-5) and points in the paint (34-28).

 
UP NEXT: Florida Tech returns to action this Saturday, February 17 when they make the trip to Miami Shores to face Barry. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
 
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