Tech Ups The University of Puerto Rico Bayamon 80-56
MELBOURNE, FL- Two days after the Panthers suffered their first loss of the season to the hands of UPR Bayamon they stormed back to defeat the Cowboys
80-56. All but one Tech player put up points for the home team. Junior guard Jennifer Tamilio (Boston, MA) led the way for the Panthers, scoring 18 points
while grabbing a game high six steals. She also grabbed four rebounds and shot a perfect 6-6 from behind the free throw line.
The game went back and forth for most of the first half. Tech scored first on a lay-up by junior forward Milana Velasquez (New York, NY) but within the
first four minutes the teams had only managed to score five points each. The Cowboys attempted to pull ahead and mounted a four-point lead, their largest
of the night, on a three pointer and a foul shot. Junior guard Danielle Vaughn (Tallahassee, FL) then sunk a three and freshman forward Sabrina Jones
(Orlando, FL) scored a jumper to put the Panthers ahead. With under eight minutes to play in the half UPR Bayamon tied the game on four consecutive free
throws, two coming off a Panther foul and two coming off a Technical foul charged to coach John Reynolds. It did not take long however for the Panthers to
mount another lead, and with a minute left in the half Jones shot two successful free-throws to give Tech the edge 33-24 going into the locker room.
The Panthers maintained a 10-point lead the first eight minutes of the second half. They began pulling away on a four good free-throws by junior guard
Kristina Harrell (Melbourne, FL), two of which come on a Technical foul charged to the opposing coach Jerry Batista, and a lay-up by freshman guard Kailey
Dettman (Sarasota, FL). With 24 second left in the game junior center Shante Johnson (Orlando, FL) scored Tech’s final point on a free throw. UPR Bayamon’s
junior forward Carla Escalera (Las Piedras, PR) led the game in scoring with 26 points, including going 3-5 from behind the ark and sinking 9-10 from being
the free-throw line. She also managed to grab six rebounds, four steals, and two blocks.
The Cowboy’s only other player to reach double-digits was freshman guard Pamela Roman (Quebradillas, PR) who scored 11 while dishing six assists and
grabbing four steals. Roman also tallied six rebounds.
Kristina Harrell scored 13 points for Tech with six rebounds and two blocks. Sabrina Jones managed 12 points while also grabbing six rebounds.
The win puts the Panthers at 3-1 on the season while UPR Bayamon drops to 1-2. The Panthers host the annual Florida Tech Thanksgiving Classic this Friday
and Saturday. Tip-off for game one is scheduled for Friday at 2:00 pm between the Panthers and visiting Puerto Rico- Rio Piedras.
