WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team began what they hope will be a historic run through the Sunshine State Conference Tournament tonight as they hosted Florida Tech. The Sailfish played their best half of the season to open the game and ran away from the Panthers on their way to a 73-50 victory and into the semifinals.

The Sailfish came out of the gates the more energized side, and it showed on the backboards where they dominated Florida Tech in the first quarter 19-9. The Sailfish collected seven of those rebounds on the offensive glass and turned them into extra scoring opportunities. Led by Alisa Marlow, five points, and Shekinah Guthrie who had an early six points and seven rebounds in the opening quarter, the 'Fish jumped out to a 21-11 lead. They shot 40 percent from the field while holding the Panthers to just 20 percent.

Guthrie was dominant once again in the second quarter, scoring 10 of her game-high 18 points.  She made three consecutive mid-range jumpers to force a Panthers timeout as the Sailfish lead ballooned to 30-12. Sia Williams provided a nice spark off the bench as she five points in the quarter while going perfect from the field, and Maria Benitez-Zayas ran the offense effectively as she finished the game with nine points, six rebounds, and five assists. While the offense was humming along to a 27 point second quarter, the PBA defense was able to limit Florida Tech to just 15 points and take a controlling 48-26 halftime lead. 

The Sailfish got scoring contributions for eight different players in the opening half led by Guthrie's 16 but also support from Marlow's eight points and seven points from Benitez-Zayas and Williams each. Williams added eight rebounds for the game as Guthrie pulled down 13 as she recorded another double-double. PBA was 16-for-34 from the field and was 6-of-10 from three in the first half.

The Sailfish coasted their way to the victory after building the large halftime lead. The lead was never cut below 14 points at any point in the third or fourth quarter as PBA kept the defensive energy that helped them build the lead as their red-hot offense came back to life. The 'Fish still outscored the Panthers 25-24 in the second half as they went into their bench with the large lead. The Sailfish ended the game shooting 34 percent and 11-of-27 from three. 

The Sailfish have now had two impressive performances in a row as they carry their momentum into their postseason run. Up next, they face a return trip to Rollins in the semifinals of the SSC Tournament. The Sailfish are coming off a 64-59 victory over the Tars just three days prior as the Sailfish look to continue their best run ever through the SSC Tournament.