Florida Tech Earns Tough Road Win Over Barry 68-62 In Women’s Hoops

By  //  February 12, 2016

Julie McCarthy’s Rakes In 16 points

Florida Tech defeats Barry 68-62 Wednesday night to earn the season sweep over the Bucs. (Image By Amanda Stratford)
Florida Tech defeats Barry 68-62 Wednesday night to earn the season sweep over the Bucs. (Image By Amanda Stratford)

BREVARD COUNTY * MELBOURNE, FLORIDA- Three Panthers finished in double-digits, paced by Julie McCarthy’s 16 points and nine boards, as Florida Tech defeated Barry 68-62 Wednesday night to complete the season sweep of their Sunshine State Conference rival.

With the victory, FIT (16-6, 10-3 SSC) remains in sole possession of second place in the league standings while BU (15-7, 7-5 SSC) moves down to fourth.

The 16 points scored by McCarthy tied a career-high for the junior out of Honefoss, Norway. DeLise Williams and Diamond Cooper also produced strong performances, each finishing with 13 points and six rebounds.

Julie McCarthy
Julie McCarthy

Florida Tech’s play on the glass and free throws were the difference in the game. The Panthers outrebounded the Bucs 47-34, including a 21-6 edge in offensive boards that led to 23 second chance for FIT. Head coach John Reynolds’ squad was outstanding from the line as well, converting 25-of-29 attempts in the win.

“We talked about it in practice for two days and the team came out and did a better job on rebounds and free throws,” stated Reynolds. “Barry barely got any second chance opportunities because we did not let them get to those offensive rebounds. Julie McCarthy and Diamond Cooper really controlled the paint for us, both had great games for us.

“I thought in the fourth quarter, our defense, free throws and rebounding were exceptional. I couldn’t be prouder of our kids tonight, that was a solid team effort.”

John Reynolds
John Reynolds

BU was first to make its mark on the game off Amra Elezovic’s jumper, however, the Panthers then rattled off 17 of the next 24 points to take a 17-9 advantage into the second. McCarthy got off to a fast start, scoring seven in the first quarter alone.

Shequana Harris extended FIT’s lead to 28-18 at the 4:01 mark of the second quarter, but the Bucs then proceeded to go on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 28 with 1:15 remaining before halftime. Delana Green hit both of her free throws in the waning seconds to give the Panthers a 30-28 lead at the break.

A three-pointer from Ines Kerin with 5:09 left in the third handed Barry its first lead of the game since early in the first quarter, 38-37. In total, the Bucs made 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in the period, helping BU go up as much as six with 28 seconds left in the stanza. Kareese Johnson then knocked down both of her attempts at the line to cut BU’s advantage down to 50-46 heading into the fourth.

DeLise Williams
DeLise Williams

Harris trimmed the Bucs lead to two with her jumper off the glass, and then Cooper tied it up at 50 on the ensuing possession, igniting an 11-3 run by the Panthers over the next 6:51 to give them a 61-53 lead.

The Bucs looked as though they were going to make another comeback after Kerin’s trey with 45.5 seconds remaining capped a 7-2 run for BU that made it a 63-60 game. However, McCarthy’s rebound and put-back with 20 seconds left sealed the deal for the Panthers as they handed Barry just its second home loss of the season.

Harris struggled from the field in the game but still finished with nine points, five boards and two assists in 34 minutes. Johnson added seven points whileTiesha Flagler notched six points, eight boards, two assists and two steals in the win.

Three Bucs recorded double-digit points in the contest, led by 14 from Kerin who knocked down 4-of-9 from long range. Elezovic contributed 14 points, five boards and two assists to her team’s effort and Ivana Vuletic tallied 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Diamond Cooper
Diamond Cooper

Despite the loss, BU outshot the Panthers in the game, making 38.9 percent from the field compared to just 29.9 by FIT. The Bucs also buried 10-of-25 from beyond the arc to match their season average of 40 percent.

Florida Tech looks to keep rolling as it visits SSC foe Rollins Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff from Winter Park, Florida. The Panthers fell to the Tars 72-65 in the teams’ earlier meeting this season on Jan. 13 in Melbourne.

Links to live coverage will be available at FloridaTechSports.com/live.