DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team extended its winning streak to three games with a 76-54 win over Sterling, Monday at the ICI Center. Monday was designated Education Day and the over 900 fifth-graders in attendance at Monday's game got to see the Eagles improve their overall record to 5-3.
Sophomore
Mercedes Jorge lit up the scoreboard with a career-high 23 points and matched her season-best rebounding performance with 13 boards on the way to her second double-double of the year. Jorge, who was 10-for-12, including a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, matched teammate
Ashley McWilliams' game-high assist total with four.
Sabrina Whiting contributed 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, while
Kalah Martin rounded out the Eagle players in double figure with 12 points and four boards.
Following the trend of opening up double-digit leads early in each of their last two, games, the Eagles put the Warriors back on their heels from the outset. After Megan Stagner matched Jorge's two-pointer to tie the score at 2-2 at the 18:39 mark, the Eagles went on a 15-2 run over the next seven minutes to open up a 13-point (17-4) lead. Lisa Nuxol-Wilson's squad made just three trips to the free throw line in the first half, compared to 16 by the Warriors, but the Blue and Gold overcame that discrepancy by shooting 60 percent (6-for-10) from the three-point line.
The Eagles continued to pour on the offense and led by 18 points before taking a 35-24 advantage into the intermission.
Coming out of the break, a lay-up by Lori Dauer and a trey by Hailey Davis helped the Warriors close the gap to eight points (37-29) early in the second half, but a 46.3 (19-of-41) percent shooting clip in the final 20 minutes helped the Eagles pull away for good.
The Eagles, who rank second nationally in total rebounds (49.6) and three-point field goal defense (.202), bested Sterling in both those categories, outrebounding the visitors 50-32 and holding them to 3-for-20 from long range.
Davis was the leading scorer for a Sterling team that moved to 5-8 on the year. She finished with 18 points and five rebounds, while Kelsey Strobel came off the bench to add 11 points.
The Eagles will return to action after the Christmas break when they host point at 4 p.m. on Dec. 30 as part of the Street Sports International Land of Magic Classic.
