Panthers Dealt First Loss in Day One of Rollins Thanksgiving Classic

Florida Tech shows perseverance in second half by overcoming double-figure deficit

WINTER PARK, Fla. (Women’s Basketball) – Despite trailing by 13 at the break to Georgia Southwestern State, Florida Tech clawed back into the game in the second half, but the Lady Hurricanes would prevail, winning 65-56 Friday afternoon in Warden Arena.

The Panthers (4-1) were paced by Kristen Dixon’s 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the floor. Lynisha Nelson added 14 points to go with nine rebounds. Briauna Hagins led the squad in the rebound department with 11. Coming off the bench to give Tech 21 good minutes was Katie Kingfield who recorded eight points and eight rebounds.

Heading into the game, the Crimson and Gray were shooting 45 percent from the field, 38 percent from three-point land and 79 percent from the charity stripe. Georgia Southwestern State’s defense forced Tech to set a season-low in each of the three categories, while forcing 22 turnovers.

“You have to give Georgia Southwestern State some credit for playing a good basketball game,” Tech head coach John Reynolds said. “I thought they outplayed us in every aspect of the game. The stats show we out-rebounded them by three, but we didn’t get the big rebounds they did. We trailed by 13 at the half and came back to tie the game twice in the second half. We didn’t give up and we didn’t quit, but we got outplayed and we didn’t shoot the ball well.”

Behind 16 points from Jessica Bivins, the Lady Hurricanes (3-0) led 37-24 at intermission. Dixon led her team with nine points, but the Panthers were outshot, 44.4 percent to 30 percent.

Tania Walter’s layup made it a 51-42 game with 8:40 remaining in regulation. From that point, Tech engineered an 11-0 run, highlighted by five points from Nelson. Jasmire Brown capped the scoring spree with a jumper, evening-up the contest at 51-51 at the 6:53 mark. But her bucket would mark the Panthers’ last field goal until Kingfield laid the ball into the hoop with 2:43 to go.

Although Tech trailed by only four following her bucket, they were unable to trim Georgia Southwestern State’s lead any further.

The Panthers will look to get back on the winning track on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they take on Missouri-St. Louis in Warden Arena. Live audio and stats will be available at www.floridatechsports.com.