A Stephane Granada layup with 1.5 seconds left carried the Barry Buccaneers to a 72-70 victory over Florida Tech on Saturday at the Barry Health and Sports Center. The Panthers erased a 15-point deficit 55-40 with 4:00 left in the third, only to have that shot by Granada do them in.
After Tereza Sedlakova tied the game at 70 with 35 seconds left, Granada drove into the lane and put it up, getting it to go off the window. Juhnae Richardson sealed the victory with a block, as time expired.
Florida Tech (6-7, 3-4 SSC) shot the ball very well in the first half, hitting on 13-of-31 shots from the field. 41.9 percent. They finished 26-of-57, 45.6 percent) Unfortunately for FIT, Barry shot lights out, going 16-of-28, 57.1 percent in the first half, including 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) behind the arc. They finished 27-of-52 (51.9 percent).
Tanease Richardson scored 20 for Florida Tech and Kailyn Ebb finished with 14 before she fouled out in the waning moments of the game. Ebb, DeLise Williams, and Sedlakova all ended the day with six rebounds. Kiara Palmer led Barry with 21 points on 9-for-12 from the field.
The Panthers were fighting from behind all day, beginning when they went down by seven in the first quarter. They went on a 7-0 run tying it up on two Ebb free-throws with 1:14 left. Juhnae Richardson’s jumper with 55 seconds left made the difference in the quarter.
A three by Gracie Doane started the second quarter on a high-note for the Panthers and Tanease Richardson’s hoop made it 23-20, but Kiara Palmer hit four straight shots for Barry, giving them a 28-23 lead. Williams answered with back-to-back baskets of her own, making it 28-27 before Elin Ekdahl hit a triple to make it 31-27 with 3:54 to go. Granada and Barbara Cousino hit consecutive threes to end the half, giving the home team a 39-31 lead at the half.
Cousino kept her hot shooting going with two three-pointers in the first minute and a half of the quarter, expanding the lead to 12. Florida Tech went on an 8-0 run, doing much of the damage from the free-throw line and making it a 55-48 game.
Ebb was called for a loose-ball foul on a made free-throw with 12 seconds left, a call you rarely see if ever and even the Barry play-by-play guy called it a bogus foul. Harriet Swindells shot just before the buzzer, giving the Bucs a nine-point lead at the end of the third.
That set up a great fourth quarter Tanease Richardson hit her first three of the season with 7:50 to go, cutting the lead to 59-53 and Crawford followed with a jumper cutting the lead to four. Barry got the lead back up to six a couple times, before a free-throw by Ebb cut it to 63-60 with 4:46 to go. Sedlakova’s layup moments later got the Panthers to within one.
Sedlakova would score again on a jumper with 4:10 left, giving the Panthers just their second lead of the contest. It didn’t last long, as Palmer came right back with a hoop. After Tanease Richardson tied it at 66, Palmer hit two from the charity stripe, before Ebb answered with a layup, tying it up again at 68.
Granada hit two free-throws with 2:25 left, giving her team a 70-68 lead. Both teams went cold from there until Sedlakova hit the tying shot, only to see Granada hit the eventual game-winner. With the win, Barry moves to 12-3 overall and 5-2 in the Sunshine State Conference.
For more info: Florida Tech @ Barry Box Score
The Panthers road trip continues Wednesday with a conference tilt at Saint Leo. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.