FIT Women Win Sixth Consecutive Basketball Game
By Florida Tech // January 6, 2013
Panthers Open Second Half With 9-0 Run
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – Florida Tech opened the second half with a 9-0 run and never looked back as they defeated Palm Beach Atlantic for the second time in seven days by a score of 72-53 on Saturday in West Palm Beach.
“PBA came out to play today,” head coach John Reynolds said. “In the first half, they came out and took advantage of some mismatches. I thought we made the right adjustments at halftime and our players executed. It was a really good road win for us.”
Palm Beach Atlantic (3-11) raced out to a 7-2 lead to begin the contest, but Florida Tech (9-2) responded with a 10-3 run to take a 12-10 lead just four minutes in. The Sailfish knotted the game at 12-12 on their next trip down the floor.
One minute later Ida Gustafsson hit her second 3-pointer of the half, and then Rita Acevedo stole the inbound pass and laid it in for a five-point swing to give the Panthers an 18-12 lead.
The Sailfish hung around and brought the deficit down to one point, 22-21, with 5:09 remaining. But Gustafsson swished her third 3 of the half to give the Panthers a 28-24 advantage.
With a 1:22 remaining in the half, Gustafsson collected a missed 3-pointer and scored to give FIT a 31-26 lead. Gustafsson finished the half with a game-high 16 points.
Sophomore Rosie Hynes hit a runner at the buzzer to give the Panthers a 35-30 halftime lead.
Senior Jami Chappell opened the second half with a 3 from the left corner to propel FIT’s 9-0 run. Acevedo carried the rest of the run with two made free throws and two layups to give the Panthers a 44-30 lead with 16:18 showing on the clock.
Redshirt freshman Peggy Smith drained a tray from the right wing to extend the FIT run to 16-4 over the first seven minutes of the second half. Prior to Smith’s trey, Hynes made back-to-back layups to push the Panthers’ lead to 51-34.
Kayk Wilson hit her second triple of the game with 6:22 remaining to give the Panthers their largest lead of 20 points, 62-42.
PBA only came within 15 points of FIT over the final six minutes of regulation. Redshirt freshman BreAnn Davis pushed the Panthers’ lead back to 20, 72-52, with back-to-back jumpers.
The Sailfish hit a free throw in the final seconds to give FIT a 72-53 victory. It is the Panthers’ second victory over PBA in seven days.
Acevedo finished the game with her second consecutive double-double. The 5-foot-7 point guard scored 11 points and collected 10 rebounds, while also adding six assists. Gustafsson finished with a team-high 16 points, while Hynes added 12 points.
FIT out-rebounded the Sailfish 46-25 and 25-4 in PBA’s offensive zone.
