MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech women's basketball team continued their season-closing three-game home stand on Wednesday evening with a Sunshine State Conference matchup against Eckerd at the Clemente Center. After by trailing by as many as 25 points and facing a 19-point deficit going into the fourth quarter, the Panthers put together their best performance of the season, rallying to defeat the Tritons, 61-57.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 61, Eckerd 57
Records: Florida Tech (10-20, 5-14 SSC), Eckerd (15-11, 10-9 SSC)
Location:  Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.
 
FIRST QUARTER:

• Florida Tech took the lead 26 seconds in courtesy of a Jessica Lange layup that was made possible thanks to a Kyandra Poitier offensive rebound.
• Eckerd responded on their ensuing possession with a Jessie Ford triple.
• The Tritons stretched their lead out to nine with an 8-0 run in the span of a minute thanks to a Lauryn Vieira layup and threes from Ford and Chance Bucher, leading to a Panther timeout at 5:22.
• Head Coach John Reynolds called on his bench and they responded on the first possession out of the timeout with Breazia Robinson's knocking down jumpers on consecutive possessions to halt the Crimson and Gray scoring drought. 
• Eckerd extended their lead to 18-6 thanks to a Vieira three-pointer and layups from Martyna Kowalska and Ieva Korzane.
• The Tritons rode 53.3% shooting from the field and 62.5% from beyond the arc to a 23-8 at quarter's end.

SECOND QUARTER:

• The two teams traded five points over the first four minutes of the quarter with the Panthers receiving a boost through a Poitier jumper and a Tai Roberts layup.
• Vieira broke a three and a half minute scoring drought for the Tritons with a three just after the five-minute mark.
• Divine Guthrie's three-point play at 4:37 broke a two-and-a-half-minute scoreless spell for Tech.
• After Guthrie sank a pair of free throws on Tech's next possession, Eckerd closed the half on a 9-3 run over the final 4:16 with all three of Florida Tech's points coming at the free throw line.

 
THIRD QUARTER:

• The Crimson and Gray got on the board first once again, this time through a pair of Lina Stranger-Johannessen free throws 10 seconds in.
• Eckerd responded with seven unanswered points through a Kowalska layup, a Ford three and a Korzane layup that spanned just under three minutes.
• The Panthers' four-and-a-half-minute scoreless streak was snapped at the 5:20 thanks to a Guthrie free throw.
• A pair of Korzane free throws with 4:42 remaining gave the Tritons their largest lead of the night at 49-24.
• Tech's first field goal of the quarter came at the 4:10 mark as a Sarah Liberatore steal led to a fast break layup for Lange.
• They would find further footing thanks to a Poitier coast-to-coast layup and a Liberatore three to close within 49-31 at 2:46.
• However, they would muster only a Poitier jumper over the remainder of the quarter.
• Eckerd's scoring over the final five minutes of the third came exclusively from three Korzane free throws.
• The Tritons took a 52-33 lead into the final quarter with no one in the building aware of what was about to unfold.

 
FOURTH QUARTER:

• The Crimson and Gray used an 18-2 run over the first 6:53 of the frame to make what had once seemed a formality into a new game.
• After a Vieira jumper started the scoring, Tech responded with a Robinson jumper, a Liberatore layup and a Remingtyn Smith triple that led the Tritons to call timeout at 8:06.
• Tech's momentum continued after the timeout thanks to a defensive stop and a Guthtie foul line jumper that shrunk the deficit to 54-42 with seven and a half minutes remaining.
• Another stop sparked a Panther fast break, ending with a Guthrie layup that brought Florida Tech to within 10 and injected life into the Clemente Center crowd.
• A steal and layup by Smith just under the 6:30 mark brought the Panthers to within single digits for the first time since 14-6.
• Liberatore's corner three at 5:30 made it a 54-49 ballgame and the idea that a comeback for the ages started to dawn on the home crowd.
• After Robinson got a crucial block on Eckerd's next possession, Liberatore took a feed from Guthrie and her close-range finish made it a one-possession game.
• The Tritons were able to momentarily stop the bleeding with a critical Bucher three with 3:07 remaining to push the lead back to six.
• The Panthers moved back within four thanks to two Poitier free throws at 1:56.
• On Eckerd's next possession, Poitier stole an inbound pass and drew a foul with 1:44 to go. With the Crimson and Gray in the bonus, she split the pair to bring Florida Tech to within three once again.
• Liberatore's steal and layup made it a 57-56 game entering the final minute.
• Eckerd appeared to have a lifeline when Korzane went to the free throw line with 47 seconds on the clock but missed both of her attempts.
• Roberts grabbed the rebound on the second miss, led the Panthers down the floor and sank her jumper while being fouled with 39.5 seconds left to give Tech their first lead since 2-0.
• Roberts missed the free throw and Eckerd would call for timeout upon securing the rebound.
• Into their half court set, Hannah Wentworth drove and was fouled by Guthrie with 28.1 seconds left. Following a sequence between the two that led to double technical fouls called, Guthrie had fouled out.
• Wentworth missed both free throws, however, with Roberts grabbing the crucial board with 26.6 to go.
• Following a timeout, Roberts was able to dribble eight seconds off the clock before being fouled.
• Roberts converted both free throws to push the Crimson and Gray lead to 60-57 with 18.7 remaining.
• After a Triton timeout, the Tritons got the look they wanted, as Bucher got a clean look for a potential game-tying three with 11.5 seconds to go but could not get it to fall.
• Olivia Stephens got the rebound, but Korzane was able to force a jump ball and with the possession arrow in Eckerd's favor, the Panthers would need one more stop.
• The Tritons got the ball into the hands of Wentworth, whose three would not go in.
• Smith grabbed the all-important rebound before being fouled with 3.9 seconds left.
• She hit the first of her two free throws to seal the Panthers' biggest win of the season.

 
NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Sarah Liberatore led the Panthers in scoring with 13 points, nine of which came during the final quarter. The junior added three steals and two assists.
• Divine Guthrie had one of her best games of the campaign thanks to 10 points and eight rebounds.
• Kyandra Poitier provided a crucial presence inside with nine points, eight boards and two steals.
• All six of Remingtyn Smith's points came during Tech's 28-point fourth quarter.

 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech is now 53-28 all-time against Eckerd and 30-10 all-time vs. the Tritons at home.
• This was the Panthers' first win over the Tritons since a 56-47 victory on January 8, 2020.
• The 25-point deficit was the largest overcome by Florida Tech in the past 10 years.
• Tech finished the game shooting 32.8% (21-64) from the field, 30% (3-10) from beyond the arc, and 66.7% (16-24) on free throws.
• Eckerd shot 32.8% (19-58) in the contest, 28.1% (9-32) from the three-point range, and 66.7% (10-15) from the line.
• Florida Tech held the advantage in rebounds (45-44), points off turnovers (17-14), points in the paint (32-18), second chance points (14-11), fast break points (18-9) and bench points (25-14).

 
UP NEXT: Florida Tech will bring down the curtains on the 2023-24 season this Saturday, March 2^nd when they host #16 ranked Tampa for Senior Day. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
 
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