First Test Passed, Tech Women Win 66-58

Trio of Panthers register double figures in season-opening victory

MELBOURNE, Fla. (Women’s Basketball) – Florida Tech’s women’s basketball team officially began its 25th season Friday afternoon with a 66-58 victory over Albany State in day one of the Panthers’ Tip-Off Challenge, held inside the Clemente Center.

Lynisha Nelson appeared off the bench for the Panthers and registered a game-high 17 points. Ashton McClairen added 14 tallies on 5-of-12 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Kristen Dixon rounded out Tech’s double figure scorers with 10 points in 34 minutes.

“We looked basically how I thought we would look,” Tech head coach John Reynolds said. “We’re still a ways away from being where we want to be. Basketball season is a process.

“Albany State has 12 junior and seniors. To their credit, they didn’t go away and didn’t stop playing. We didn’t play smart basketball in the last five minutes. Today, we got away with that and that doesn’t happen often. In the end, we made free throws down the stretch and took care of the ball. We’ll take it because it’s a win. We’ll enjoy it for an hour and get ready for Fort Valley State tomorrow.”

Aided by an aggressive defense, Tech (1-0) constructed an 11-0 run in the opening three minutes. However, Albany State (0-1) quickly clawed back into the game. The Golden Rams cut their deficit down to two on a pair of free throw shots by Precious Peak with 11:56 to play in the first half. Less than two minutes later, Quinette Johnson tied the game at 17-all.

Following two free throws which gave the opposition a one-point lead, McClairen single-handily tied the game one final time and put her team up for good on a pair of conversions from the charity stripe. The Panthers would close the half on an 11-4 run to take a 32-24 lead into the locker room.

In the second stanza, Tech built up its largest lead of the game, 15 points, with 4:41 on the clock. Albany State once again showed that it would not quit by chopping its deficit down to seven three-times only to have the Panthers respond with a bucket of their own.

Briauna Hagins and Kaylin Jaichon brought down a game-high eight rebounds. McClairen, Nelson and Rita Acevedo paced their team with a squad-best three steals.

Tech has now won seven-straight season-openers, dating back to the 2004-05 season.

The Panthers will now prepare to square off against 20th-ranked Fort Valley State in the final day of the Tip-Off Challenge, set for Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the Clemente Center.