WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team returned home for a game against the Florida Tech Panthers. The Sailfish led wire-to-wire to win 70-65 and move to 8-6 on the season and 4-4 in Sunshine State Conference play.

PBA and the Panthers played out a grind of an opening quarter as struggled to get much going offensively. The Sailfish were solid defensively to hold Florida Tech to just 3-of-15 from the floor and limit them to 10 points. PBA countered by shooting a solid 6-of-13 from the field but they managed just 15 points and had five turnovers in the opening ten minutes. Jillian Schenk came off the bench to lead PBA with five early.

The Sailfish gave the first start of the season to freshman Claire Davis and she delivered for PBA. She scored six of her team-high 18 points in the second quarter as PBA built on its lead. They held FT below 30 percent from the floor in the first half while shooting just under 50 percent of their own and led 30-22 at the half.

A quick Manisha Redus timeout after she was unhappy with the beginning of the second half, the Sailfish answered the call and jumped out on a run that would put them up by as much as 19 in the third quarter. Davis scored eight more points in the quarter and as a team, the Sailfish converted on 9-of-11 free throws in the quarter. The PBA offense exploded for 27 points in the quarter, but the Panthers would go on a 9-0 run to cut the PBA lead to 10 before Courtni Demorest hit a three at the end of the quarter to stem the momentum.

Even though the Sailfish appeared to be in control, the Panthers battled back to make it a game late in the fourth quarter. They cut the 'Fish lead to four on multiple occasions but PBA always had an answer to stay ahead. The Sailfish had a balanced offensive attack and got contributions from everyone who played as nine different players scored a basket on the night.

Mariyah Fletcher collected another double-double as she finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Schenk finished with 11 points and Ashleigh Boulin added nine points and eight rebounds off the bench. Guards Maria Benitez-Zayas and Kash Ayuso each had six assists as they ran the offense as PBA prevailed by five.

The Sailfish have a week off to prepare for their next conference opponent as they host Embry-Riddle on Jan. 14. The Eagles are 7-6 and 2-5 in SSC play so far this season.