MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—The Barry Buccaneers used a stifling defense that swatted a school-record 18 shots to beat the Florida Tech Panthers 56-43 in Sunshine State Conference women’s basketball action in the Health & Sports Center on Wednesday night. The win kept the Bucs (9-4, 4-0 SSC) undefeated in the conference and tied for first place with Rollins.
The Bucs jumped out to a 10-point lead on the first quarter of the game, leading 13-3 after a jumper by Brooke Keeton at the 10:42 mark of the first half. But the Panthers (10-5, 1-4 SSC) stormed back with a 12-2 run over the next 5:31 to cut the lead to three, 15-12 on a layup by Jasmine Brown. The Bucs carried a two-point lead, 17-15 into the locker room.
Florida Tech stayed close early in the second half, trailing 22-19 after a bucket by Briauna Hagins at the 16:14 mark. But Barry rolled off seven straight points on two jumpers by Alexandria Zamora and a three-pointer from Shanna Suttington that made it 29-19 at the 14:00 minute mark.
The Panthers never got closer than four points and the Bucs extended the lead to as many as 15 before settling for the 13-point win.
Danielle DeBerry led the Bucs with 15 points, while Zamora added a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Katie Kingfield led the Panthers with nine points.
Keeton swatted seven of the Bucs 18 blocks, while Zamora and Yvonne Houston each had three. The 18 blocks broke the mark of 14 set Jan. 20, 2001 against Tampa.
The Bucs next face the Florida Southern Mocs on Saturday, Jan. 14 in Lakeland, Fla., in their first road game since Dec. 17. Barry went 4-1 on their five-game homestand.