Panthers Stand Alone Taking Florida Southern 76-71 in the SSC
LAKELAND, Fla. — The Panthers overtook the Moccasins of Florida Southern 76-71 to a first ever 0-3 Moc start in the Sunshine State Conference in the 25 years
of SSC history. Florida Tech now on a four game winning streak came back from a six point half-time deficit to have four players score in the double
figures for the victory.
The win brings the Panthers to a 25-21 all-time series lead after falling on the road last year to the Mocs in a close outcome 52-50 and both teams
battling to an NCAA record breaking five overtime periods resulting in an 82-81 Tech triumph.
Leading the way for Tech were seniors’ Jen Tamilio (Boston, Mass.), Danielle Vaughn (Tallahassee, Fla.) along with junior newcomer McKena Richardson
(Quartz Hill, Cal.) combining for 48 of the 76 points with each player tallying 16 points. Richardson and Tamilio each added four assists a piece.
Junior Panther season leader Kristin Heminger (Merritt Island, Fla.) also notched double figures finishing with 11 points.
Coming off the bench, Richardson notched her Florida Tech career-high with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Vaughn almost grabbing
her second double-double with only two rebounds shy of the repeat; led Tech defensively with 8 boards. For the week she has averaged 20.5 points per game
and 9.5 rebounds per game for their first week back of the 2007 SSC schedule.
Key Reservist senior center Shante Johnson (Orlando, Florida) played a great game inside with six boards adding four points going 2-for-3 from the field.
The Panthers had a season first hitting zero from behind the arc, while letting the Mocs hit nine threes for the night. Tech outshot the Moccasins from the
field averaging 45.8% to 41.7% for the conference show down. Tech shot 36 of their points in the paint and again… for the second straight game… kept their
turnovers under the 20 mark forcing 26 turnovers for Florida Southern.
Victoria Vanacore (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) led all scorers with 17 points and ten rebounds for the double double. Two other Mocs scored double digits
with Carrissa Collie (Orlando, Fla.) and Willamina Folks (Tampa, Fla.) adding 11 and 10 points respectively. Folks also hit a double double also pulling
down 10 boards.
Florida Tech is now 11-2 overall and 3-0 in the SSC while Florida Southern falls to 5-8 on the season and 0-3 in conference play. The Panthers will host
the University of Tampa on Wednesday, January 10 in another Sunshine State doubleheader beginning with the women’s tip-off at 5:30 p.m. in the Clemente
Center. Remember fans can follow along via live video and audio along with live stats at the following web address http://gopanthers.fit.edu/stretch.php.
Newspaper Box Score
Florida Tech vs Florida Southern
01/06/07 5:30 p.m. at Lakeland, Fla. (Jenkins Field House)
FLORIDA TECH 76, FLORIDA SOUTHERN 71
FLORIDA TECH (11-2, 3-0)
VAUGHN, Danielle 5-7 6-10 16; TAMILIO, Jennifer 8-18 0-2 16; RICHARDSON,
McKena 6-16 4-8 16; HEMINGER, Kristin 4-5 3-6 11; CHASE, Tenisha 0-2 5-8 5;
FEQUIERE, Danise 2-4 0-0 4; JOHNSON, Shante 2-3 0-0 4; McCARTNEY, Megan 0-0
2-2 2; MUNS, Amanda 0-0 2-2 2; GREENE, Lindsay 0-1 0-0 0; RUSSELL, Caselle
0-0 0-0 0; HARRELL, Kristi 0-3 0-0 0; JONES, Sabrina 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-59
22-38 76.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN (5-8, 0-3)
VANACORE, Victoria 5-7 4-4 17; COLLIE, Carrissa 5-10 0-0 11; FOLKS,
Willamina 4-9 2-3 10; CASSIDY, Elise 2-6 2-2 8; BOORDE, Alexis 3-4 0-0 7;
SAOJI, Meghana 2-7 2-4 6; MENZIES, Katie 2-6 0-0 6; DIRAIMO, Nicolle 1-3 1-2
3; WASHINGTON,Roshaunda 1-3 0-0 2; NELSON, Erica 0-4 1-2 1; PRINCE, Nakita
0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 12-17 71.
Florida Tech……………… 35 41 – 76
Florida Southern………….. 41 30 – 71
3-point goals–Florida Tech 0-6 (; TAMILIO, Jennifer 0-3; RICHARDSON, McKena
0-2; HARRELL, Kristi 0-1), Florida Southern 9-20 (VANACORE, Victoria 3-3;
CASSIDY, Elise 2-4; MENZIES, Katie 2-5; COLLIE, Carrissa 1-2; BOORDE, Alexis
1-1; NELSON, Erica 0-1; WASHINGTON,Roshaunda 0-2; SAOJI, Meghana 0-2).
Fouled out–Florida Tech-None, Florida Southern-SAOJI, Meghana; NELSON,
Erica. Rebounds–Florida Tech 41 (VAUGHN, Danielle 8), Florida Southern 40
(VANACORE, Victoria 10; FOLKS, Willamina 10). Assists–Florida Tech 13
(TAMILIO, Jennifer 4; RICHARDSON, McKena 4), Florida Southern 18 (NELSON,
Erica 4). Total fouls–Florida Tech 16, Florida Southern 26. Technical
fouls–Florida Tech-None, Florida Southern-None. A-157
