Florida Tech Lady Panthers Get Much Needed 71-70 Overtime Win Vs. Conference Foe Lynn

McCarthy with career night 28 points, 15 boards

Julie McCarthy scored a career-high 28 points and Florida Tech (11-12, 6-10 SSC) came back from a 17-point first half deficit to defeat Lynn (10-13, 4-11 SSC) in overtime 71-70 in Sunshine State Conference action at the Clemente Center. (FIT image)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Julie McCarthy scored a career-high 28 points and Florida Tech (11-12, 6-10 SSC) came back from a 17-point first half deficit to defeat Lynn (10-13, 4-11 SSC) in overtime 71-70 in Sunshine State Conference action at the Clemente Center.

McCarthy also hauled in 15 rebounds in the contest, including a season-high 11 offensive boards, to complete the double-double.

Gudlaug Juliusdottir chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and four assists, while DeLise Williams notched 10 points and five assists. Tereza Sedlakova contributed 10 rebounds, six points, three blocks and two steals.

Brekia Henderson led the Fighting Knights with 21 points, while Paola Vazquez notched 15 points and five boards. Shaunt’e Tucker added 10 points and six rebounds.

After a back-and-forth start to the contest, Lynn jumped out to take nine point lead, 22-13, with 21 seconds remaining in the first.

McCarthy also hauled in 15 rebounds in the contest, including a season-high 11 offensive boards, to complete the double-double. (FIT image)

The Fighting Knight’s advantage ballooned to 32-15 by the 5:01 mark of the second quarter. However, FIT outscored LU 6-0 the remainder of the half and went into the break trailing 32-21.

The Panthers’ run continued into the third as they outgunned Lynn 20-8 to earn their first lead of the game 41-40 late in the quarter.

The teams exchanged baskets into the end of the fourth period when Marta Oledka gave the Fighting Knights a three point advantage with just 27 tics left on the clock.

After cutting the deficit to one, Williams collected the ball off an inbound and drove past her defender for the game-tying layup with 13 seconds remaining to force overtime.

The back-and-forth action continued into the extra period with the Fighting Knights grabbing a 70-69 edge with 24 seconds to go.

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However, not letting the game slip away, McCarthy corralled a pass from Markeema Crawford and finished in the paint to hand FIT a 71-70 advantage with 12 seconds left.

Lynn had a chance to win the game in the waning seconds but the effort rimmed out as time expired.

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Florida Tech will look to continue the late season momentum as the Panthers travel to Daytona Beach, Florida for a showdown with the Eagles of Embry-Riddle on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 5 p.m. ET at the ICI Center.

Fans can access links to live coverage of the action at FloridaTechSports.com.

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