DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Junior Taylor Cyphers registered her second double-double of the season to lead the Embry-Riddle women's basketball team to a 71-51 defeat of Ave Maria in Sun Conference action at the ICI Center on Saturday. Cyphers led all players with 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Eagles (9-4, 1-2) notched the first-ever conference win in program history.

Cyphers was one of three players in double figures for an Eagle squad that dominated the reigning conference tournament champions from the first whistle. Mercedes Jorge was one board shy of the double-double, finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Kalah Martin added 12 points and six assists.

The Eagles did most of their damage on the inside in the first half, led by Cyphers' 10 points. ERAU was 0-8 from long range but knocked down 15 of their 23 attempts inside the arc.

ERAU scored the first points of the game but Taylor Lindsey answered with a layup to tie the score. Cyphers put the Eagles back on top and the home team never looked back.

Holding a two-point lead, the Blue and Gold got a jumper in the paint from Allison Abbott. That bucket keyed a 6-1 run that extended the Eagle lead to seven (18-11) with 11:18 left in the half. Both sides traded baskets over the next three minutes, and a layup by Martin and a jumper by Ashley McWilliams gave the Eagles their first double-digit lead (25-15) of the half, prompting AMU Head Coach Bob Batson to call a timeout. The Lady Gyrenes drew up a play that led to a Lauren Gillingham jumper and made it an eight-point (25-17) game, but that was as close as AMU would get as the Eagles closed out the half by outscoring the visitors 12-8 to take a 37-25 lead into the intermission.

Coming out of the break, the Eagles continued to pour on the offense, while the defense forced five turnovers and limited the Lady Gyrenes to just four made shots in the first 8:20 of the half. That combination gave the Eagles a 22–point cushion with 11:40 remaining, marking their largest lead of the game.

Back-to-back threes by Kimberly Tucker and Ashlee Rioux, sparked a 13-2 AMU run that closed the gap to 11 points (59-48) with 4:27 left to play. ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson used a 30-second timeout to rally her troops and the ERAU women answered, besting the Lady Gyrenes 12-3 in the final 3:56 to seal the win and holding AMU to their second lowest scoring total of the season.

Taylor Lindsey was the only player in double figures for the Lady Gyrenes who fall to 9-6 overall and 1-3 in league play.

The Eagles are back on the road next Thursday when they travel to Miami to take on league leader St. Thomas.