Florida Tech Rally Comes Up Short, Falls To No. 4 Drury At Home 81-73

By  //  December 20, 2015

Florida-Tech-Women's-Basketball-580-4
Looking to close out 2015 on a high note, Florida Tech welcomed No. 4-ranked Drury to the Clemente Center for the final day of the CarMax Holiday Classic hosted by Florida Tech. (FIT Image)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Looking to close out 2015 on a high note, Florida Tech welcomed No. 4-ranked Drury to the Clemente Center for the final day of the CarMax Holiday Classic hosted by Florida Tech.

In a fiery contest, a third quarter run turned out to be the difference as DU built enough of a cushion to hold off a late FIT rally and come away with the 81-73 victory Sunday.

DeLise Williams led four FIT players in double-digits with 18 points. The sophomore also collected five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 33 minutes of action.

DeLise Williams
DeLise Williams

Tiesha Flagler finished with 17 points in the game, to go along with a team-high four assists and four rebounds. She was impressive from the line in the game, making 11 of her 12 opportunities.

In the opening quarter with the score tied, DU utilized an 8-0 spurt over a two-minute span to go up 14-6 with 5:42 left in the first. FIT then answered with a run of its own, outscoring DU 11-6 the rest of the quarter to make it a 20-17 game heading into the second stanza.

DU made 50 percent of its shots in the first quarter, including 3-of-7 from behind the arc.

A 20-12 run in the second quarter increased DU’s advantage to 11 with 1:23 left in the half, but a layup by Tereza Sedlakova and three free throws by Williams helped FIT go into halftime down just eight at 42-34.

Despite the deficit, FIT led the battle on the glass 23-16 but coughed up twice as many turnovers than its opponent. Williams scored 10 in the half for FIT, while Adrienne Horn paced DU with 11 points.

Fouls plagued FIT in the third as DU was able to go on a 15-4 run over the first 4:40 of the period and increase its lead to 20 points. In total FIT was called for 10 fouls in the quarter, leading to 20 opportunities at the line, of which DU converted 15.

A Flagler layup with 41 seconds remaining in the third helped FIT cut DU’s advantage to 14 as the teams entered the final 10 minutes of the game with a score of 68-54.

With just over five minutes left in the contest, Kailyn Ebb broke through her defender’s block out and put back a Harris miss to bring the deficit to just 10 points at 74-64.

 Shequana Harris
Shequana Harris

Flagler extended the rally and got FIT to within six with just two minutes remaining in the game, but time ran out on the Panthers as they were handed their third loss of the season, and first since Nov. 27.

Ebb and Shequana Harris each fell just short of producing double-doubles in the game. Ebb notched 10 points and nine boards, while Harris recorded 10 points and eight rebounds.

Annie Armstrong paced three DU players in double-figure scoring with 19 points and four rebounds. Alice Heinzler added 17 points and six assists, while Horn registered 15 points.

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FIT controlled the glass in the game, outrebounding DU 47-33, including 23 alone on the offensive end. DU hit more of its shots, scoring on 42 percent of their attempts compared to just under 35 percent by FIT. Despite the efficiency, DU struggled against FIT’s three-point defense, making just 5-of-23 from beyond the arc.

After a much deserved winter vacation, Florida Tech will return to Sunshine State Conference action against Lynn on Jan. 2 in Boca Raton, Florida.

Live coverage, provided by Lynn, will be available at FloridaTechSports.com.