Panthers Fall in State Tournament 73-60

Niceville, FL – The 2019-2020 Palm Beach State Women's Basketball season comes to a close in the opening round of the state tournament.

The Panthers faced off against the College of Central Florida Patriots on Thursday March 5 on the campus of Northwest Florida State College. The Panthers started off strong; and after a back and forth first quarter, the team took off – outscoring Central FL 21-11 in the second. PBSC went on a 10-0 run in the middle of the 2^nd quarter. Alma Danielsson had two key 3-point shots that effectively took the wind out of the sails of the Patriots. Central Florida missed 8 shots in a row before finally ending the Panthers' run on a layup. Maria Benitez-Zayas would answer for the Panthers, draining a 2-pointer and drawing the foul, she then made the free-throw to complete the old-fashioned 3-point play. Kaelei Koenig would add a 2-point jumper and Ronita St. Felix closed out the half with a heads up steal and completed the layup right before time expired. The Panthers went into the half with an 11-point lead, 33-22.

In what could be described as a tale of two halves, the Panthers were outscored 51-27 over the final two quarters. Palm Beach got into foul trouble early, Izzy Allen had to sit out much of the 2^nd half after her fourth foul – she would later foul out. Caleese Ramirez and Amaya Small would finish with four fouls; Maria Benitez-Zayas fouled out late in the fourth. Central Florida was given 30 free throw attempts compared to Palm Beach's nine. The Patriots shot 85% from the free throw line, earning them 25 points. The Panthers trailed by only three heading into the fourth but couldn't get the shots to fall. They were outscored 27-17 in the game's final quarter.

Alma Danielsson led the scoring for the Panthers -- she scored 11 points, including three 3-point field goals. Jaliyah Spencer had 10 points off the bench.