Fanny Hakanson made some moves on the perimeter and got past the Texas Woman’s University defense in time to lay one up and score with 0.8 left in regulation Wednesday, giving the Florida Tech Panthers a 59-58 win in the Tampa Holiday Classic.
Hakanson, a sophomore, was 4-of-10 from the field in this game for 8 points, none bigger than those final two. She led the team with three assists. Kailyn Ebb led the Panthers with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Tereza Sedlakova had 10 points.
The Panthers (4-6) won this game despite shooting a dismal 29.5 percent from the field, going 18-of-61. The difference in this game was the Panthers hot shooting from the free-throw line, where they were 22-of-25 (88 percent).
Texas Woman’s (5-5) went up 12-6 with 3:03 left in the first quarter. November Morton made the Panthers only three of the day with 51 seconds left, tying the game at 14. The Panthers ended the day 1-for-16 from behind the arc, equating to 06.3 percent.
A free-throw late in the quarter gave the Pioneers a 15-14 lead as the quarter came to an end.
Texas Woman’s started the second quarter with a 9-1 run and went up 24-15. They later went up 29-21 after Alexus Dukes hit two free throws with 3:36 to go. The Panthers answered with a 7-0 run to end the half, cutting the Texas Woman’s advantage to 29-28 at the break.
Florida Tech went up 35-31 early in the quarter and held the lead until 50 seconds remained in the quarter when Dukes got a fast-break hoop to put her team up 44-43. The Pioneers held a 47-45 lead when the horn sounded in the third.
The game went back-and-forth in the final stanza, with Texas Woman’s leading by as many as five, 56-51, with 1:27 to go. Ebb and Hakanson hit back-to-back baskets to cut the lead to 56-55 with 50 seconds to go in regulation.
The Panthers were forced to foul and it worked to their advantage, as the Pioneers missed four of six from the charity stripe down the stretch, opening the door for the Hakanson game-winner that dropped in and gave the Panthers their second win in as many days.
For more info: Texas Woman’s University @ Florida Tech Box Score (Neutral site)
With the final two non-conference games of the season now in the win column, the Panthers are now off until December 30, when they travel to Miami Shores to take on Sunshine State Conference foe, Barry. The game is scheduled to tip at 2:00 p.m.