Box Score
Led by 29 points from Chelsea Johnson and another double-double from Emma Cannon - 19 points/17 rebounds - the top-seeded Moccasins used a strong second half to overcome a four-point halftime deficit and beat Florida Tech, 79-66, in the championship of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament Sunday at Melbourne.
The Moccasins' 10th straight win gives them a sweep of the SSC regular season and SSC Tournament championships and was the 10th SSC Tournament title in school history, the first since 2003.
Johnson scored 19 of her 29 points in the second half. Cannon, named the tournament's outstanding player, followed her 24-point/21-rebound effort in Saturday's semifinal win over Eckerd with a 19-point/17-rebound effort in Sunday's title game for her 13th consecutive double-double and 21st of the season. Michaela Hawley tossed in 13 points. Lynisha Nelson led the Panthers with 26 points and Ashton McClairen added 12.ÂÂ
Florida Tech used an 8-4 spurt in the final 2:29 of the first half to take a 38-34 lead at halftime.
It took the Moccasins until the 12:44 mark in the second half to take the lead for good on Hawley's layup, 48-46. From that point, the Moccasins went on a 17-6 run that put the lead at 65-52 with 5:18 remaining and the Panthers never got any closer than seven points the rest of the game.
Joining Cannon on the all-tournament team were Johnson, Nelson, McClairen, Ashley Lutz from Eckerd and Jaleesa Harmon from Tampa.
The SSC Tournament championship gives FSC an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament next weekend. It's the Moccasins' first NCAA berth since 2003. The NCAA will anounce its tournament selections and pairings at 9:30 p.m. this evening at www.ncaa.com.
