Florida Tech Panthers Seek To Continue Winning Ways On the Road Saturday
By Florida Tech // January 2, 2016
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Coming off the holiday season and winter vacation, Florida Tech has little time to shake off the rust before it resumes Sunshine State Conference play.
On Saturday, the Panthers will get their first taste of 2016 basketball when they square off with Lynn at 2 p.m. ET at the de Hoernle Sports & Cultural Center in Boca Raton, Florida.
Florida Tech had a very successful 2015 slate of the schedule going 8-3 and entering the new year sitting at third place in the conference. FIT has fared especially well on the road this season posting a perfect 5-0 record, including wins in all three SSC road games.
The Panthers’ only losses this season were to then-No.3 Nova Southeastern, Sioux Falls and then-No. 4 Drury.
Shequana Harris paced FIT through the first 11 games of the season, scoring 16.7 points per game, good for second in the SSC. The redshirt junior has been a bigger force on the road, filling up the stat sheet with 18.8 points, five rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game.
The Panthers’ supporting cast, of Tiesha Flagler, DeLise Williams and Julie McCarthy, has also performed well this season. Flagler has averaged 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
The senior also leads the team with three assists per game and a free throw percentage of 83.1 percent (49-of-59).
Williams is averaging 10.2 points, five rebounds and 2.1 assists per game and knocked down a team season-high 24 points to help FIT defeat previously undefeated FSC on the road. McCarthy adds 8.3 points and a team-high 6.8 boards per game.
Kailyn Ebb is starting to play significant minutes off the bench as her performance has picked up over the last four games. Over those contests, the sophomore has averaged just short of a double-double with 9.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 50 percent from the field converting on 20-of-29 free throw attempts.
The continued effort and contribution from key players should pay dividends Saturday against a Fighting Knights’ squad that has struggled through its first 10 games this season. Lynn (2-8, 0-4 SSC) heads into their first game of the new year after posting a 1-4 record, including three home losses, in the month of December.
The Fighting Knights are paced by Tifani Kerrison whose 12.8 points per game is good for ninth in the league. Charla Nelson-James averages 11.6 points per game and leads LU in rebounding with 7.3 boards per game. Zachara Bailey leads her team with three assists per game and sits at third in scoring at 8.1 points per game.
Florida Tech has won the last two matchups against the Fighting Knights, both coming last season. In the most recent meeting on Feb. 28, 2015, the Panthers escaped with a nail-biting 78-74 victory in Boca Raton.
Paul Van Scott and Jim Mitchell will have the call from the de Hoernle Center. You can access the live audio feed at FloridaTechSports.com/live.
Live coverage, courtesy of Lynn, will be available at FloridaTechSports.com.
