MELBOURNE - Michaela Hawley and Chelsea Johnson combined for 45 points, 39 in the second half, but a second-half Moccasin rally fell short and Florida Tech posted a 70-64 victory here Wednesday night.
The Moccasins trailed 31-19 at halftime and fell behind by as many as 16 early in the second half. A 25-10 run, with Hawley scoring 12 and Johnson 11, narrowed the deficit to one at 45-44 with 9:11 left in the game. After the Panthers built their advantage back up to 11, at 57-46, the Moccasins made another run. With Hawley scoring 12 points in an 18-8 surge, the Moccasins again narrowed the margin to one, 65-64, on a pair of free throws by Nicolle DiRaimo.
After the two teams traded turnovers, the Panthers' Ashton McClairen made two free throws to give Florida Tech a 67-64 lead with 41 seconds left. On the Moccasins' subsequent possession, Kristen Dixon had a key block on Johnson's shot and the Panthers were able to tack on three additional free throws for the final six-point margin.
Hawley finished with 30 points and Johnson added 15, but no one else scored more than five points for the Moccasins (16-5, 6-4 SSC).
Lynisha Nelson led Florida Tech (11-10, 3-7 SSC) with 15 points.
The Panthers outrebounded the Moccasins 59-29, collecting 35 offensive rebounds. Briauna Hagins had a game-high 16 boards for Florida Tech. Hawley led the Moccasins with five boards.
Saturday the Moccasins entertain Rollins at 5:30 p.m. at Jenkins Field House. The game will be broadcast live on the internet on SportsLine Radio Network (SLRN). In this week's NCAA South Region rankings, the Moccasins are ranked seventh and Rollins is ranked fifth. Arkansas Tech remains the top-ranked team in the South Region.
