The Florida Tech women’s basketball season came to an end Tuesday, with a loss 93-62 loss to Florida Southern in the Sunshine State Conference quarterfinals.

The Panthers (13-16, 9-11 SSC) had their moments in this one, led by freshman Severine Uggen, who had 18 points. She got off to a good start, but the Moccasins held her in check for much of the second half.

Gudlaug Juliusdottir scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half and added three steals, while Fanny Hakanson and Amanda Allen both finished with 10 points. Hakanson’s six rebounds and four assists led Florida Tech.

Mackenzie Steele led four Florida Southern players in double figures. Her 23 points were bolstered by a 5-for-8 performance from three-point range.

Rebounds were a huge differential in this game, with Florida Southern holding a 49-29 advantage. Florida Tech turned the ball over 17 times, while FSC had 10. The three-pointer was a big difference when the Panthers beat the Mocs’ by three on February 8. The Panthers struggled in this one from beyond the arc, going 3-for-17.

Uggen scored the Panthers’ first five points, in what was a back-and-forth beginning to the first quarter. Hakanson hit a three, followed by an Uggen layup giving the Panthers a 10-8 lead with 5:08 to go in the opening stanza.

A 12-4 run by the Mocs’ was highlighted by the three-ball and they stretched their lead to 20-14. They would go into the second quarter with a 24-16 advantage.

The second quarter was a see-saw battle throughout. The lead fluctuated between nine and 11 before Juliusdottir hit a jumper with 35 seconds left to cut the lead to 39-32. A late jumper for FSC made it 41-32 at halftime.

Things looked promising for the Panthers at the start of the third quarter as Hakanson, Uggen and Juliusdottir powered a 6-0 run and cut the Florida Southern lead to 41-38. Unfortunately, the Panthers would score nine points in the final 7:50 of the period, while they watched the Mocs’ reel of nine straight in the middle of the quarter and they led 68-47 at the end of the third.

A 12-2 run for the Mocs’ ended 3:48 left in the game, as the home teams lead swelled to 34, 86-52. A three by Hakanson cut it to 29 with 42 seconds left, before a late bucket from FSC made it a 31-point difference.

The loss brings the 2019-2020 season to a close for the Panthers. We would like to thank Panthers coach John Reynolds for his candid comments throughout the season and look forward to another exciting season beginning in November.