Lions Claw Their Way Back Against Panthers

DeLise Williams - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography

The Saint Leo Lions overcame an 11-point first quarter deficit to beat the Florida Tech women, 70-65 in a Sunshine State Conference contest on Saturday at the Bowman Center. It was only the third win for the Lions in the conference.

DeLise Williams led FIT with 16 points, including 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. Gudlau Juliusdottir was the only other Florida Tech player in double digits, with 13. Three Lions players were in double digits, led by 21 from Chelsy Springs, who also had 11 rebounds, completing a double-double.

Florida Tech coach John Reynolds couldn’t have drawn up a better start on the road than his team put together. Markeema Crawford and Williams hit back-to-back threes to jump out to a 12-5 lead. Williams hit another three as part of a 9-0 run and the Panthers were up 21-10 at the end of the first quarter. The Lions did not score in the last 4:14.

The Lions (8-14, 3-11 SSC) started the second quarter with a 9-0 run of their own and cut the Panthers lead to 21-19 with 7:34 to go in the half. A hoop by Amanda Allen broke that up and Williams hit another three, giving the visitors a 28-26 lead.

The momentum went the way of the Lions at the buzzer, when Julie McCarthy committed a foul on a three-point attempt by Ragen Dotson. She hit all three free-throws, tying the game at 33, with Florida Tech already in the locker room.

McCarthy picked up her third foul 1:53 into the second quarter, but the Panthers ran off another eight-point run and were up 43-35 with 5:07 left. Two consecutive steals by Williams helped the Panthers get their lead up to 50-39, with 1:42 to go in the quarter.

Saint Leo ended the quarter with a 7-0 run and just like that, they were within four at 60-56, as the buzzer sounded in the third.

The Panthers led 60-52 with 6:00 to go in the game, but the Lions cut it to 60-58 with 5:17 left. The teams traded baskets before Saint Leo took the lead 62-61, with 3:53 left. Williams completed a three-point play with 3:23 left, giving the Panthers a 64-62 lead.

That was the last lead the Panthers would hold, they missed their next four shots and committed a turnover, before Springs gave her squad the lead for good, a 66-64 lead with 42 seconds left. Free-throws by Gina Brierley iced the game with 27 seconds left, as the Panthers were forced to foul from there on out.

For more info: Florida Tech @ Saint Leo Box Score

Florida Tech 10-11 (4-9 SSC) will return home on Wednesday to face Lynn in another conference showdown. The game tips at 5:30 p.m. 



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