MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Lynn University women's basketball team closed its 2022-23 regular season on Wednesday evening with a 54-49 win over Florida Tech. The win improves the Fighting Knights' record to 21-7 overall.
 
The Sunshine State Conference Tournament starts next Tuesday and Lynn will host a first round game at the de Hoernle Sports Center at 7:00 pm. The opponent and tournament preview will be released this weekend.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Fighting Knights close the regular season on a seven-game winning streak and haven't lost in the month of February
- While Lynn defeated Florida Tech, neither team shot the ball particularly well
- The Fighting Knights finished at 35 percent shooting on 17-of-49 attempts, while the Panthers finished at 31 percent on 16-of-51 from the floor
- Lynn finished the night 18-of-21 from the free throw line including a 4-for-4 effort inside the final seconds after the Panthers cut their deficit to one point, 50-49
- The Fighting Knight outscored Florida Tech 16-6 in the opening quarter and twice led by 10 late in the frame
- Sophomore Ella Fiore hit a layup at 2:20 for a 14-4 advantage and sophomore Makayla Hemingway hit a layup with three seconds left for a 16-6 lead after one quarter of play
- The Panthers cut their deficit to 18-11 with 6:43 to play in the second and later hit a three-pointer at 3:34 to trail by just six, 22-16
- Fiore hit a layup with 1:14 left as Lynn led by 11, 28-17, and carried a 28-19 lead into halftime
- Florida Tech outscored Lynn 30-26 in the second half
- The Panthers opened the third by cutting their deficit to six, 32-26 midway through the third  
- Fiore hit a jumper with 1:52 left and graduate Jada Marone hit a layup at 1:20 as the Fighting Knights pushed their lead back to 14, 40-26
- Florida Tech pulled its way back into the contest with an 8-0 run in the middle of the fourth
- The run culminated with four free throws as the Panthers trimmed the score to 43-41
- Florida Tech later tied the contest at 45, but Lynn outscored the hosts 9-4 from that point on including the four free throws that sealed the win
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
 - Fiore, the reining SSC Defensive Player of the Week, scored 17 points with five rebounds and five steals
- Marone added 15 points with six boards and four steals
- Sophomore Kennedi Philson scored eight points with eight rebounds.