FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball (3-6) team dropped its opening game at the Cruzin' Classic, falling to Georgetown (Ky.) 67-53 on Thursday.
 
Taylor Cyphers and Sabrina Whiting led the Blue and Gold with 12 and 11 points, respectively in the Eagle effort, but it was the Tigers' Jessica Foster who topped the scoring column as her 27-point output helped Georgetown improve to 5-6 on the year.
 
It took close to three minutes for either team to score the first point of the game, which came on a Foster free throw at the 7:15 mark. The Eagles answered with a Laniere Coleman layup and at the end of a first period that featured two ties and five lead changes, the Eagles led 12-8.
 
Foster took over the offense for the Tigers in the second period, scoring 14 of her 27 points in that frame. The Eagles maintained a slim margin until a Foster trey sparked a 15-9 run that put Georgetown ahead 28-23 at the half.
 
The Tigers built the lead to seven (30-23) to start the third quarter, but a Cyphers free throw keyed a 10-3 Eagle run and Kalah Martin's successful first attempt at the charity stripe tied the score at 33-33 with 3:31 left in the period. Back-to-back-three-pointers by the Tigers halted the Eagle run and by the end of the third, Georgetown had built its lead back up to eight points (43-35).
 
Georgetown carried the momentum of the its late run in the third into the fourth quarter and quickly widened the gap to 14 points (56-42). The Eagles picked up their intensity late in the game, but the Tigers responded by drawing fouls on their way to the basket and bested the Eagles 14-3 in free throws down the stretch to take the win.
 
"We had a pretty good defensive game today and executed better, but just didn't put the ball in the basket when we needed to," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson said. "We have to learn to answer runs and step up when we need to. I was proud of the team for fighting back to tie the game, but we still need to learn to put four quarters together and be consistent. We have another tough opponent tomorrow and have to bounce back and continue to learn from our mistakes."
 
ERAU will close out tournament play on Friday morning against Findlay at 10 a.m.