Panthers Flatten Barry In Conference Opener

By  //  December 3, 2012

Impressive Road Victory

MIAMI SHORES, FLORIDA – Junior Jasmire Brown scored 26 points and sophomore Kayk Wilson added 23 points, both career highs, to lead Florida Tech to a 77-56 road victory against Barry in the Sunshine State Conference opener on Saturday.

Florida Tech junior Jasmire Brown had 26 points to lead the Panthers by Barry in the Sunshine State Conference women’s basketball opener on Saturday. (Image courtesy Florida Tech)

Junior Rita Acevedo and sophomore Rosie Hynes also had career days in the victory. Acevedo was a rebound and assist shy of her first career double-double, collecting a career-high nine rebounds and nine assists. Both totals were also game highs. Hynes finished the game with a career-high six assists, with four coming in the first half.

Florida Tech finished the game with 21 assists and just eight turnovers. The Panthers’ record for fewest turnovers in a game is six, which was set against Tampa on Jan. 26, 2011.

FIT (4-2, 1-0 SSC) opened both halves of the game with multiple point runs. The Panthers used an 8-0 run to open the game, and then opened the second session on a 7-0 run.

Brown scored the first five points of the contest with a fast-break layup off a steal and a 3-point jumper. Wilson added her first of five 3-pointers minutes later to give FIT the 8-0 lead. The two combined for the Panthers’ first 13 points of the game.

After the first media timeout, Wilson hit a runner and was fouled. Wilson made good on the free throw to give FIT a 13-3 lead with 13:49 in the first.

With 7:44 remaining in the half, Wilson knocked down the Panthers’ sixth 3-pointer, her third, of the game to give FIT its largest lead of the half, 29-14.

Barry (5-1, 0-1 SSC), down 33-18, went on a 12-3 run over a four-minute span to cut the Panthers’ lead to 36-30 with 1:25 on the clock. But Brown scored four consecutive points to push FIT’s advantage to 40-30 before the buzzer.

Brown finished the first half going 6-of-8 from the field for 16 points in 16 minutes. Wilson contributed 12 points off the bench, going 4-of-8 from the field and 3-of-6 from behind the arc—tying her season-high of made 3-pointers in a game in just the first half.

Wilson opened the second half with her fourth 3-pointer, tying a career best, 34 seconds in to spark FIT’s 7-0 run. With 16:17 remaining, Wilson knocked down her fifth 3 of the contest to set a new career-high in 3-pointers made in a single game.

Redshirt freshman Peggy Smith swished her second 3-pointer of the game three minutes later to give the Panthers their largest lead of the game of 21 points, 55-34.

FIT’s lead did not go below 15 points, reaching a 21-point advantage four more times before the final horn. The Panthers defeated the Buccaneers, 77-56, at Health & Sports Center for the second consecutive time. FIT knocked Barry out of the SSC Tournament in Miami Shores last February by a score of 71-68 in the semifinal round.

The Panthers finished the game with a season-high 10 made 3-pointers. Six off the team record of 16 set during the 1991-92 season against Flagler. Wilson hit half of the 10, while Smith contributed two and Brown, Jami Chappell and Hynes each connected on one 3. Acevedo assisted on five of the 10 3-pointers.

Brown finished with a game- and career-high 26 points. The junior did so with a career-high 10 made field goals, shooting 63 percent. Brown also recorded a game- and season-high five steals.

Wilson has now collected a career high in points in back-to-back games. The sophomore scored 21 points against No. 5 South Carolina Aiken six days ago, before finishing with a new career mark of 23 points today against Barry. Wilson also matched a career-high seven made field goals and seven rebounds, which she recorded against USC Aiken, to go along with her career best five made 3-pointers.

The Panthers will return home Saturday, Dec. 8 when they host Albany State in a non-conference game. FIT and the Lady Rams will tip off at 4 p.m. at the Clemente Center.