MELBOURNE, Fla. –
Sharale McCormick scored a career-high 24 points and added six rebounds as Flagler College defeated Florida Tech 76-61 in a non-conference women's basketball game Tuesday night at the Clemente Center.
Flagler improved to 1-2 on the season while Florida Tech lost its season opener.
"It was a good win today," said head coach
Mo Smith. "I was very proud of our team's toughness and togetherness today. Our ladies showed a lot of resilience by keeping their composure by withstanding some really good Florida Tech runs."
After the Panthers grabbed an early 5-3 lead, McCormick hit a mid-range jumper that ignited a 17-2 run by Flagler.
Taylor Gardner hit a three-pointer to end the quarter to give the Saints a 22-9 lead.
The Flagler lead swelled to as many as 22 (37-15) in the second quarter before settling on a 37-25 lead at the half.
Florida Tech rallied in the third and cut the lead to three (47-44) on a three-pointer by Emily Acampora with 3:15 left. But the Saints scored the next seven points and maintained a double-digit lead for nearly the remainder of the game.
Gardner finished with 16 points and five assists.
Buse Utku added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Utku made all three 3-point attempts and Flagler finished 9-of-12 from long range. The Saints also held a 26-8 advantage in points in the paint.
Acampora scored a team-high 16 points coming off the bench for Florida Tech. Tai Roberts added 15 points and Lina Stanger-Johannessen tacked 11 more.
Flagler heads to Fort Lauderdale where it will face Nova Southeastern University on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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