The Florida Tech Panthers women’s basketball team earned their most convincing win of the season on Wednesday, going on the road and beating Saint Leo (7-9, 2-6 SSC) 85-52 in a Sunshine State Conference tilt. The win evened the Panthers record at 7-7 overall and 4-4 in the conference.

The team shot 53.1 percent overall, going 34-64 from the floor and they were 8-of-14 behind the arc, good for 57.1 percent. DeLise Williams led the Panthers with 16 points and seven rebounds, to go with four steals. Gracie Doane wasn’t far behind, scoring 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. She was 4-of-6 from three-point range.

FIT won the battle of the boards by a wide margin 46-27, including 14 offensive rebounds. Amanda Allen, Kailyn Ebb, Gudlaug Juliusdottir and Aniquah Swan all had five rebounds each.

Florida Tech trailed 3-0 and 5-2 early and never trailed again, as they rolled to the 33-point victory. They had an 8-0 run in the first quarter, while the Lions drought lasted 3:30. The home team did close the gap to 13-11, but a 6-0 run to end the quarter helped the Panthers to a 22-14 lead as the second quarter got underway.

The only area the Panthers struggled in was from the free-throw line, as they ended the night 9-of-15. In the second quarter alone, Swan and Juliusdottir missed their free-throws on what could have been three-point plays. The Lions went on a 6-0 run in the stanza, only to see Doane knock down back-to-back three’s, giving the Panthers a 44-27 lead at the half.

Alani Gallagher (12 points) and Mary Redmond (10 points) scored 22 of the Lions 27 points in the half. Redmond finished with 15 to lead her squad and Gallagher poured in 14. Izabell Skoogh finished with seven. Saint Leo was without team captain Ragen Dotson who was out with an injury. Her loss was definitely felt by the Lions in this contest.

Williams sat out much of the third quarter after picking up her third foul with 9:02 remaining, but the Panthers were able to keep things under control, ending the quarter on a 7-0 run including a three-ball by Amanda Allen that gave the Panthers a 57-35 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Florida Tech went on another 6-0 run about midway through the final quarter and led 73-46. Allen would hit from downtown again with 2:52 to go and Doane drained another three to make it 79-48 30 seconds later. Doane would hit a jump shot with 33 seconds left, scoring the last points of the night for the Panthers.

For more info: Florida Tech @ Saint Leo Box Score

The Panthers return home Saturday to host the Tampa Spartans in another conference showdown. The tip is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.