Sports Lowdown

Tereza Sedlakova - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Eckerd Tritons (26-4) showed why they are the number one team in the Sunshine State Conference and number one in the South Region, as they took down the Florida Tech Panthers 77-56 in Sunday’s SSC title game. The Panthers (15-14) were a game bunch to say the least, but they were outscored 24-8 in the second quarter and the uphill climb from a 40-26 halftime deficit, just proved to be more than they could handle. Tereza Sedlakova led Florida Tech with 15 points, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field including one three pointer. She also pulled down eight rebounds. DeLise Williams finished with 14 points, six rebounds, one block and four steals. DeLise Williams - Photo credit: - James Ragan Photography Florida Tech trailed by as many as six, 16-10 in the first quarter, but hoops by Williams, Sedlakova and two free-throws and a shot at the buzzer by Michaela Gelbaugh , helped the Panthers finish the...

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 ...

Julie McCarthy - Photo credit: James Ragan Julie McCarthy scored 13 points and pulled down 11 rebounds Saturday, in her final regular season game with the Panthers, helping Florida Tech secure a 56-46 victory over Palm Beach Atlantic and finish the regular season on a winning note. “Obviously, there was no hangover for Julie with the corrective measures we took on Wednesday ,” said Florida Tech coach John Reynolds. Give her credit for being a good teammate, I’m proud of her.” “This group of kids has faced all kinds of adversity throughout the year, as much as any team I’ve ever coached,” he continued. “Today what we did was battle ourselves back to be 13-13. We got back to .500… and I thought that was the goal.” Florida Tech (13-13, 8-10 SSC) dominated the first quarter, leading 17-8 and played well in the second quarter, getting three pointers from Markeema Crawford and Amanda Allen early. DeLise Williams made her defense pay off after a steal, she dished to A...

Julie McCarthy - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Julie McCarthy hit the game-winning layup with 11 seconds left in overtime Wednesday night, helping the Florida Tech women get a much-needed Sunshine State Conference win over the Lynn Fighting Knights, 71-70. “I thought she was dominant tonight,” said head coach John Reynolds of McCarthy. “They didn’t have an answer for her.” McCarthy’s final points put the exclamation point on her big night. She recorded a double-double, with 28 points and 15 rebounds. She was also credited with two blocks and two steals. Things did not start well for the Panthers, who were down 22-15 after the first quarter and watched Lynn start the second stanza with a 7-0 run. The Panthers were able to stay afloat though, as Lynn scored just three points in the last five minutes of the second stanza. Despite the Fighting Knights struggles, the Panthers couldn’t make up much ground, scoring their first points with 2:48 to go in th...

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 ...

Tereza Sedlakova - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech women’s basketball team dropped a very winnable game on Wednesday, losing to the Florida Southern Moccasins, 51-45 at the Clemente Center. “I think this loss is the most disappointing game of the season, winning or losing,” said Florida Tech coach John Reynolds. “People talk about the injuries we’ve had… if you make excuses, you end up with regrets. For me, no excuses... the five guys we had on the floor were good enough to win the game.” Tereza Sedlakova led the way in scoring for FIT, scoring 11 points, to go with six rebounds. She was the only Florida Tech player in double figures. Markeema Crawford had nine points and Julie McCarthy tacked on eight, to go with her 13 rebounds. The Mocs, who came in with a record of 14-7, including 10-3 in the Sunshine State Conference struggled offensively, for much of the game, but the Panthers were fighting to find offense as well and couldn’t take ad...

Gudlau Juliusdottir (11) scored a career-high 19 points on Saturday - Photo Credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech women got a huge conference win over defending Sunshine State Conference Champion Nova Southeastern Saturday, erasing an eight-point halftime deficit and leave Fort Lauderdale with a 77-73 victory. The girls are happy,” said Florida Tech coach John Reynolds, in his post-game interview with Jim Mitchell. “It’s been hard on us with lately with the injuries and the distractions we’ve had. We’re gonna just enjoy this one.” The victory completed the season sweep for the Panthers against Nova and kept their conference tournament hopes very much alive. The Sharks only have four conference losses this season, with two coming at the hands of Florida Tech. DeLise Williams led the Panthers with 25 points and Gudlau Juliusdottir added a career-high 19. Both players hit 7-of-11 shots from the field. Julie McCarthy and Markeema Crawford chipped in w...

Tereza Sedlakova - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Things got off to a good start at Rollins for the Florida Tech women on Saturday, but three turnovers to start the second half started a downward spiral and the Panthers fell, 59-50. They are now 1-5 on the road this season. The Panthers played good defense and scored 14 points in the first quarter, holding a five-point lead as the second quarter got underway. The Panthers kept the momentum at the start of the second quarter, as they went on a 7-0 run in the span of 2:35, while the Tars were 0-for-5 and that translated to a 21-11 lead for the Panthers with 7:07 to go. Things were looking good at that point, but the Panthers went ice cold, as they turned the ball over six times in a stretch of 4:42. Rollins went on a 6-0 run and that grew to a 10-0 run, as Rollins tied it up at 21, as the half came to a close. The Panthers scored seven points in that second stanza. When all was said, and done, the Panthers drou...

Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech women’s basketball team got a much-needed conference victory Wednesday night against the Saint Leo Lions, at the Clemente Center. “We stole a win tonight,” said Panthers coach John Reynolds. “I’m not sure we outplayed them and we certainly didn’t outshoot them. We outworked them at times, but we’ve gotta become better communicators and we’ve gotta understand what the role is of the player on the floor.” Freshman Amanda Allen led the Panthers with 12 points, while Gudlau Juliusdottir , Tereza Sedlakova and DeLise Williams all had 10 points. Williams also had five assists, three steals and eight rebounds. Juliusdottir had two steals and five helpers. “That’s probably the most balanced scoring that we’ve had all year,” said Reynolds. “ The first quarter was knotted at 17, with the Lions shooting well beyond the arc. They hit three of their nine three-pointers in the game in that opening stanza, while the Pan...

Shequana Harris - James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech women’s basketball team escaped Saturday with a 61-58 road win against Sunshine State Conference foe, Palm Beach Atlantic. It was the Panthers first road win of the season. It was a bit if a different look for the Panthers to start the game, with Amanda Allen and Ashle Thompson getting the start, ahead of names like Julie McCarthy and Shequana Harris . Those players did come in a little more than halfway through the first quarter. “We had a couple things that went on this week that we weren’t happy with,” said Florida Tech coach John Reynolds, in his post-game interview with Jim Mitchell. “We started kids that hadn’t started and they had the lead 12-6. We subbed, but they continued to play in the first half for us. I thought this was the best team win we’ve had.” Despite not starting, Harris led the Panthers with 15 points and McCarthy finished with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. She also contribu...

DeLise Williams scored 23 points in Wednesday's win Florida Tech’s women’s basketball team got the new year off to a good start, with a 73-60 win over Embry-Riddle Wednesday night, at the Clemente Center. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Panthers and moved them to 5-1 at home. Embry-Riddle fell to 9-4 overall, suffering their first loss in Sunshine State Conference play this season. DeLise Williams led the home team with 23 points, while Julie McCarthy and Tereza Sedlakova had 15 apiece. “We haven’t had three guys in double figures in a while,” said Panthers Coach John Reynolds. “Every kid on that team played hard tonight and I was pretty happy with the effort.” The Eagles had four players in double figures, led by Tara Fields, who scored a career-high 20 points. The Panthers (7-6, 3-4 SSC) led 20-17 after a back-and-forth first quarter, but the Eagles stormed back in the second quarter, outscoring the Panthers 22-10. The Panthers, who h...

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 ...

Julie McCarthy - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Women’s team put up a fight against the nationally ranked and undefeated Bellarmine on Sunday, before falling 68-61 in the Palm Beach Atlantic Holiday Hoops Classic. The Panthers were their own worst enemy, hitting only one of 14 three-pointers and turning the ball over 23 times. Foul-shooting kept the Panthers in this game, as they hit 26-of-29 from the line, in a game that featured a combined 56 fouls and 61 foul shots. Bellarmine finished 23-for-32 from the stripe. Julie McCarthy led the Panthers with a career-high 25 points and hit 15 of her 17 free throws. She also had 10 rebounds. Shequana Harris chipped in 18. Sarah Galvin led the Knights with a double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 11 boards. She scored her 1,000 th point as a member of the Knights in this contest. Things started well for the Panthers, who scored the first seven points of the game, but Bellarmine roa...

Shequana Harris -  Photo credit:  James Ragan Photography After a difficult loss, Wednesday night against Rollins, the Florida Tech women bounced back to beat the Nova Southeastern Sharks 57-46 on Saturday, led by Shequana Harris , who had a game high 16 points. Markeema Crawford chipped in 11. The Sharks came in ranked 22 nd nationally and had won five in a row. They fell to 6-2 overall and the Panthers handed them their first loss in the Sunshine State Conference. “We outrebounded them by 10 37-27 and that was the game,” said Florida Tech head coach John Reynolds in his postgame interview with Jim Mitchell. “Julie McCarthy had 10 and played a great game today.” Things got off to a bit of a slow start for the Panthers, who were outscored 17-10 in the first quarter, including a 10-2 Nova run to end the quarter. The slow start could have been due in large part to the absence of Tanease Richardson who was injured against Rollins and Michaela Gelbaug...

The Florida Tech Women’s basketball team picked up their first Sunshine State Conference win of the season, with a 65-58 victory over the Barry Buccaneers. The game was tied at four early, but the Panthers went on an 11-point run, to take a 15-4 lead. After expanding the lead to 18-7, Florida Tech watched the Buccaneers rattle off 11 of their own, to tie the game at 18. Julie McCarthy ’s layup at the end of the first quarter, gave the Panthers a 20-18 lead after the first 10 minutes. “It’s a conference game and a big start just means we made our run first,” said Panthers coach John Reynolds. “You know conference teams are gonna make a run right back at ya, leads like that fall apart.” McCarthy had a double-double in this game, with 10 of her 20 points coming in the first half. She also pulled down six offensive boards and 10 on the defensive glass. “I thought Julie was really good today on both ends of the floor,” said Reynolds. “Kiara Palmer is averaging 16 point...