Rollins Sinks Florida Tech In Overtime
By Florida Tech // January 10, 2013
Panthers Waste 20-Point Lead
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech led the No. 21 Rollins Tars by 20 points with 13 minutes left in regulation, but the Tars overcame the deficit to send the game into overtime where they outscored the Panthers, 12-2, for a 66-56 victory at the Clemente Center on Wednesday.
Florida Tech (9-3, 1-1 SSC) took a 47-27 lead with 13:15 remaining in the second half. The Panthers opened the second half with a 12-4 run led by Ida Gustafsson. Gustafsson began the run with five consecutive points. But then Rollins’ shots began to fall.
The Tars (9-3, 1-2 SSC) shot cold over the first 6:30 of the second half, going 1-of-11 from the field, before they got hot. Sarah Blackburn, who finished with a team-high 11 points, began Rollins’ run over the final 13 minutes.
Blackburn then brought the deficit under 10 points with 5:12 remaining in regulation with a 3-pointer. The Panthers led 53-46.
The Tars completed a three-point play after being fouled on a made basket to cut the deficit to one point, down 54-53 with 1:33 on the clock. A technical foul on the FIT bench gave Rollins an opportunity to take the lead for the first time in the contest, but Ashley Losch went 1-of-2 to tie the game at 54-54 with 1:12.
Neither team found another point before the final horn rang. The made free-throw completed a 27-7 run over the final 13 minutes for Rollins.
In overtime, the Tars took their first lead of the game with a 3-pointer, 57-54. Rollins went on to outscore FIT, 12-2, in the extra period to claim its first Sunshine State Conference win of the season.
Over the final 18:30, including the overtime period, Rollins outscored the Panthers 39-9 going 11-of-22 from the field. FIT committed 12 of its 22 turnovers over that same span.
The Panthers opened the contest with a 7-0 run over the first four minutes. They built their lead to 23-12 with 11:14 remaining in the first half. Florida Tech’s largest lead of 15 points in the first half occurred twice with less than two minutes remaining at 33-18 and 35-20. Rollins hit a 3-pointer with 14 second remaining to give the Panthers a 35-23 halftime lead.
Before Wednesday’s game, the Panthers were 8-0 when leading at the break and are now 0-2 when scoring less than 60 points this season.
Despite the loss, four panthers finished in double figures. Kayk Wilson finished with a game-high 16 points, while Gustafsson finished with 13 points and Jami Chappelladded 12 points. Redshirt freshman Peggy Smith finished with a career best 10 points, hitting three 3-pointers.
FIT will welcome Eckerd College to the Clemente Center on Saturday, Jan. 12. The Panthers and Tritons will square off at 2 p.m.
