DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team overcame a 14-point deficit to earn a 76-66 come-from-behind victory over the visiting Florida Memorial Lady Lions. The Eagles improve to 16-11 overall and 8-9 in the conference, while FMU falls to 10-18, 7-10 in league games.

Mercedes Jorge led the Eagles with a 22-point, 10-rebound effort, while Sabrina Whiting tallied 18 points, four assists and four steals. Taylor Cyphers notched 10 points and six boards in 13 minutes off the bench.

Brittany Starling led all players with 24 points, five assists and five steals in 26 minutes off the bench. Nicole Collins added 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

It took 2:32 for either team to get on the scoreboard, with Jorge scoring the first four points of the contest. The Lady Lions got on a roll after that, running out to a 21-10 lead with 10:19 left in the half. A layup from Starling gave FMU a 14-point lead (31-17) with just over five minutes to play in the period.

The Blue and Gold picked up the defensive effort over the closing minutes of the half, limiting Florida Memorial to just six points. On the offensive end, ERAU hit 6-of-8 field goal attempts to cut the deficit to just five points (37-32) at the break.

The Eagles maintained the surge of momentum after halftime, scoring the first five points to tie the game at 37 with 17:55 left. FMU responded by regaining the lead and stretching it to six points (45-39) with 15:04 remaining.

Just over two minutes later Hannah Carine tied things at 45 with a jumper, and with 12:22 to go, Whiting drilled a three to put the home team ahead, 48-47. Another Whiting three with 9:42 left extended the lead to eight (57-49), and the Eagles wouldn't be challenged after that.

Allison Abbott hit a jumper with 7:11 left to give ERAU a double-digit lead (63-53) for the first time, and by the 2:28 mark the Blue and Gold had extended the margin to 15 (73-58). The Lady Lions managed to go on an 8-1 run late, but the comeback bid fell well short as Embry-Riddle came away with a 76-66 win.

The Eagles will wrap up their inaugural regular season on Saturday at Johnson & Wales. A victory on Saturday would guarantee Embry-Riddle the fourth seed in The Sun Conference tournament, and along with it, a home game in the quarterfinal round next Tuesday. Tip-off for Saturday's contest is slated for 2 p.m.