Panthers Stumble in Second Half Against Barry

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Florida Tech women’s basketball hit the road for their third straight game as the team went down I-95 for a battle against the Barry Buccaneers. A strong first half saw Florida Tech lead the entire 20 minutes but that was not enough as a quiet second-half led to a 68-54 loss.
 
Severine Uggen was a dominant offensive force throughout the contest as she tallied a team-high 19 points and five three balls. Fanny Hakanson made her presence felt too as she led the team in both rebounds and assists with six and four respectively. Defensively, Irene Vicente and Zoe Murphy put on a display as they tallied the high marks for blocks and steals at four.
              
The Panthers began fast as a quick Uggen three put the first points on the board only 22 seconds into the action. Uggen’s hot hand continued as she scored the team’s first 11 points and gave the Panthers an 11-4 lead. Fanny Paulin sank another trey for the team that made it 14-4 and this forced a Barry timeout as they looked to regroup and get back into the contest. This timeout proved effective as the Buccaneers went on a 6-0 run that brought it back within two scores. However, the Crimson and Gray regained the momentum and again pushed it to a 10-point game off a Jamielyn Jarvis layup at the 1:12 mark. A final second Barry three-pointer made it a 20-13 game at the horn.

Barry came out of the break on fire as they brought the game within three in less than a minute and a half. A well-timed Tech substitution brought on Murphy whose energy helped powered the women to a 10-0 run with the first seven points coming from Murphy. This gave the Panthers their largest lead of the game to that point as they were up 32-19. The Bucs again called a timeout so they could slow down the Panthers’ relentless offensive momentum. Following the break, the game became a back-and-forth affair as neither team seized control for the final stretch as they went into the locker room with a score of 39-26.

The opening minutes of the final half saw both team’s defenses step up as neither could consistently score the basketball. This changed after a Tech timeout as a small Buccaneers burst brought it back to a two-possession contest as they trailed 44-38 with 5:40 left in the quarter. The Bucs continued their hot streak as they got it within a single point before another Florida Tech time out. A free throw later in the third tied it up at 46-46 before a Barry layup gave the Panthers their first deficit of the game. Florida Tech’s struggles continued as they were down 52-46 when the clock hit triple zero.

The final 10 minutes of the contest were similar to the third quarter as the Panthers’ offense struggled and the Buccaneers slowly extended their lead to double digits, as the final score for the contest was 68-54.

The Crimson and Gray will take this as a teaching moment as they retool for a home showdown with the Buccaneers this Saturday, February 13. This game is set to tip-off at 2 pm ET in the Clemente Center.

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