Sports Lowdown

Gudlau Juliusdottir (#11) had 15 points in the Panthers victory - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography On what amounted to a historic day in the history of Florida Tech Women’s basketball, the Panthers stunned the second seed Florida Southern Moccasins 58-52 in the semifinal round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. Florida Southern (20-9) uncharacteristically turned it over 22 times. Florida Tech took advantage, scoring 24 points off those turnovers. The Panthers were generous in their own right, coughing it up 19 times. Southern scored 20 as a result. Julie McCarthy was bound and determined to keep her senior season going with a double-double on Saturday, 12 points and 11 rebounds. She threw in two blocks and two steals just for good measure. “We’ve been up and down all year and the last couple games we’ve been just trying to focus on one game at a time,” said McCarthy after the game. “Now it’s just another game tomorrow and we’ll try to focus and pre...

DeLise Williams (22), Julie McCarthy (33) and Michaela  Gelbaugh (back right)  - Photo Credit: James Ragan The Florida Tech women’s basketball season will roll on, after they upset Rollins 73-70 Wednesday night, in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference tournament. The loss snapped a 12-game win streak for the Tars, who hadn’t lost since January 11, to Nova Southeastern. The Panthers (14-13) were led by Julie McCarthy , who scored 18 points and eight rebounds, including a huge board with 10 seconds left, securing the Panthers upset victory. DeLise Williams finished with 17 points, seven assists and six steals. Gudlau Juliusdottir had 14 points and Tereza Sedlakova capped the Panthers double-digit scorers, with 12. Four Tars scored in double figures, led by Marie Gilbert with 19 points and seven rebounds. Julia Ingler also had a strong game for the Tars, scoring 16 points and grabbing six rebounds. Carly McLendon and Jasmine Stone each had 10 ...

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 ...

Gracie Doane - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech women’s basketball team were doomed by a poor third quarter Friday night that saw the Lynn Fighting Knights outscore the Panthers 22-11, en route to a 71-61 Sunshine State Conference victory. The loss was the fourth in a row for Florida Tech. The Panthers troubles started early when leading scorer Shequana Harris was called for a foul two seconds into the contest. She picked up a second foul early and her third, just as the third quarter got underway. When all was said, and done, Harris played three minutes and scored two points. Florida Tech (6-6, 2-4 SSC) held their own early without her, leading 13-12 with 1:23 left in the first quarter, thanks to a layup by Gudlau Juliusdottir before Lynn overtook them, scoring five straight points and leading 17-13 at the end of the first quarter. Lynn (7-4, 2-3 SSC) extended their lead to 23-15 early in the second quarter and were up 27-19 before Gracie D...

Tereza Sedlakova - Photo credit: James Ragan A career-high 14 points from Aniquah Swan was not enough to stop the Panthers from losing their third straight game Monday, a 64-53 defeat to the Shaw Bears, at the Palm Beach Atlantic Holiday Hoops classic. Florida Tech (6-5) got off to a good start, jumping out to a 10-4 lead. Swan had four of those points and Gudlau Julisdottir had a steal and layup on the other end, to put an exclamation point on the early run. The Bears (3-10) responded with a 7-0 run, giving them an 11-10 lead with 2:39 left. Tereza Sedlakova hit two free-throws and Gracie Doane hit a three ball, to put the Panthers up, 15-14 with 1:35 left. The Bears regained the lead 16-15, before Sedlakova hit a jumper late to give the Panthers a 17-16 lead after the first quarter. The difference in the game was the second quarter, as the Bears outscored Florida Tech 18-10. Two early three-pointers got the Bears the lead 22-19 and a 6-0 run opened things up ...