BOCA RATON, Fla. – A strong second half pushed the Lynn women's basketball team past Florida Tech, 55-47, Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Knights shot 57% (13-of-23) over the final 20 minutes en route to their third consecutive win.

Lynn is now 10-7 overall and 5-4 in Sunshine State Conference, while Florida Tech falls to 5-15 and 0-9.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In a low-scoring first quarter, FIT jumped out to a 9-7 lead
- A back-and-forth second quarter saw nine lead changes
- Makayla Hemingway opened the second with a three-pointer to give the Fighting Knights the lead
- Following a Rachel Romich block, Trinity Mocadlo knocked down a three to give Lynn a 17-16 advantage with 3:33 left in the first half
- A pair of Bella Sparaco free throws put Lynn ahead, 19-18, at the break
- Lynn outscored Florida Tech 20-13 in the third quarter
- Jumpers by Carly Stroemel and Ella Fiore started the scoring in the second half
- After a Panthers three, Fiore's jumper with 6:07 left in the third gave Lynn a lead it would not relinquish
- Fiore swished a step-back jumper and Channing Chappell followed with a traditional three-point play to close out the quarter with the Fighting Knights on top, 39-31
- Lynn's lead reached double digits just seconds into the fourth quarter on Danielle Montelbano's drive and layup
- A 6-0 FIT run closed the gap to four points, 48-44, with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter
- Hemingway stepped into a wide open three to end the Panthers run and put the Fighting Knights up by seven points
- Montelbano closed out the game with four free throws to seal the 55-47 victory

FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- Lynn shot 50% (7-for-14) from three-point range
- Hemingway went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and leads the team with 29 made threes this season
- After going 4-for-4, Montelbano is now shooting 84% from the charity stripe while 37% of her points this season are from the free throw line
- Fiore scored in double figures for the eighth straight game and leads the team with 12.2 points per game this season
- Chappell has scored eight points in back-to-back games and has multiple steals in two of her last three contests
- Marianna Klavina had two steals and has posted multiple steals in eight games this year
- The Fighting Knights held the Panthers to 29% shooting and have held their opponent under 40% in four straight games
- 47 points allowed are a season low for the Lynn defense
- Lynn has won each of its last five contests against Florida Tech and nine of its last 10

UP NEXT:
- Lynn hosts Saint Leo on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 5:30 pm