The Eckerd Tritons avenged an earlier loss to Florida Tech on Wednesday, beating the Panthers 76-59 in St. Petersburg.
The Panthers (11-13, 7-9 SSC) were led by Severine Uggen who scored 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting. She scored 13 of her points in the first half and had 10 in the first quarter. Gudlaug Juliusdottir finished with 12 points, while Fanny Hakanson had 11. Hakanson had five assists and seven rebounds, leading the team in both categories.
Florida Tech shot 37.7 percent (23-of-61) and hit eight of their three-point attempts. Eckerd won the rebounding battle 35-33 and forced the Panthers to turn the ball over 17 times to their 15.
The Panthers started well, going up 7-2 before Eckerd came back to tie things up. Hakanson hit back-to-back threes to put the Panthers up 13-9, and Uggen would make a three later in the quarter to make it 18-12. The Tritons would answer back on a three by Eneritz Larranaga, cutting the lead to 18-15 at the end of one.
The second quarter is where it all fell apart for the Panthers. The Tritons went on a 9-0 run to start the quarter and they were up 31-20 as the Panthers suffered through a scoring drought that lasted over two and a half minutes. Makyla Daniels broke that run, but Eckerd kept the pressure on, scoring 16 of 20 points.
Florida Tech ended the quarter with a scoring drought of 2:30, while the Tritons scored six more points. When all was said and done, Eckerd outscored the Panthers 26-9 in the quarter and led 41-27 at the break.
The third quarter was better for the Panthers as they were outscored 16-13. A three by Hakanson with 6:05 to go cut the lead to 45-34, but the Panthers were bitten again late in the quarter as they went scoreless for the final 2:38. Eckerd wasn’t much better as their drought spanned 2:31, but they held a comfortable 57-40 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
The fourth quarter started with a 7-0 run for the Tritons and went up 64-40. Paulin hit a three with just over five minutes to go, making it 66-46. She would hit another with 29 seconds to go, accounting for the Panthers’ final points in a 17-point loss.
For more info: Florida Tech @ Eckerd Box Score
The Panthers return home Saturday to host Embry-Riddle in the Play4Kay Game. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.