The Florida Tech Panthers played an exhibition game against Webber International of the NAIA on Monday, as they prepare to head to Alaska for a weekend tournament. This was a good tune-up for the women, as they beat Webber handily, 77-57 at the Clemente Center.
Florida Tech went 21-of-51 from the floor, shooting 41.2 percent. They were 6-of-17 on threes, a 35.3 percent clip.
“I thought we played four decent quarters tonight,” said Panthers Head Coach John Reynolds, in his postgame interview with play-by-play man Jim Mitchell. “I thought the fourth quarter we got to a point we were just gonna coast and I’d like to see us keep the intensity.”
Gracie Doane led the Panthers with 20 points on this night, going 7-of-16 from the field, including 6-of-12 behind the arc. November Morton added 14 points, going 3-for-12 from long-range and Tereza Sedlakova finished with 11 points.
Cheyenne Scott led the Panthers with seven rebounds, while Amanda Allen had five. Every Panther that got into the game had at least one rebound and because of that, Florida Tech won the battle on the glass, 42-35. They won all the intangibles as well including points in the paint 32-28, despite being down in that category at the half, 16-14. Florida Tech dominated points off turnovers, 32-8.
Taniya Patrick led the Warriors, putting up a double-double, with 12 points and 11 rebounds. She was the only visiting player in double figures.
Webber International led this game 5-0 and 7-3, and the game was tied at 10 and 13 before a three by Morton put the Panthers up 16-13. Allen’s three then made it 19-15 and two free-throws by Ebb gave the Panthers a 21-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Doane started the second quarter with a personal eight-point run that included back-to-back threes. Sedlakova would add a layup, making it a 10-point run and a 31-15 lead, 2:35 into the quarter.
Webber International answered, reeling off eight straight and cutting the lead to eight, 31-23. The Panthers would build on that just a bit as the first half came to a close, leading 44-32 at the break.
Doane started the third quarter the same way she started the second, draining another three-ball. To their credit, the Warriors worked it back to 10, 51-41 with 5:21 to go in the quarter. That was as close as they would get, as the Panthers reeled off 10 straight, broken only by a three from Montrese Weller, making it 61-44.
Morton would then hit a three and a jumper on consecutive possessions and the Panthers led 67-49, as this game headed into the fourth quarter.
As you would expect, with the score as it was, the final 10 minutes was low scoring as the Panthers edged the Warriors 10-8.
For more info: Webber International @ Florida Tech Box Score (Exhibition)
Next up for the Panthers is a Thanksgiving weekend in Alaska, as they will take part in the Great Alaska Shootout. They open up on Friday, November 23rd at 9:00 p.m. EST, with University of Alaska Anchorage.
They’re a top-five team in the country and they are every year,” said Reynolds. “We’re not gonna get open looks like we did, so we gotta move the ball better. We can’t turn the ball over, we need to get the tempo we like, not that they like. We can’t get in a horse race with them, now way.”
On Saturday, the Panthers will play Simon Fraser University at 6:30 p.m. Safe travels and good luck to Reynolds and the women of Florida Tech.