DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team dropped its third straight decision on Saturday, falling to Warner by a score of 60-54. The Eagles shot just 28.8% in the game, dropping to 13-9 overall and 5-7 in league play, while the Royals improved to 6-16 and 2-11 in the conference.
Mercedes Jorge led the Eagles with 15 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks, while Sabrina Whiting chipped in 11 points and two steals. Ashley McWilliams and Kalah Martin each added nine points and one assist, accounting for two-thirds of ERAU's three assists on the evening.
Montana Bass led all scorers with 18 points for Warner, including 10 free throws, while also dishing out a game-high three assists. Maria Williams added 13 points and a game-high three steals while Leilani Tuani-Fifita contributed six points and a team-high four rebounds.
The Blue and Gold got off to a slow start, falling behind 6-0 in the first couple of minutes. It wasn't until 5:49 into the contest that ERAU made its first field goal, a layup from Tara Fields that tied the game at 6-6. Just 25 seconds later the Eagles took their first lead on a pair of McWilliams free throws, capping an 8-0 run that pushed Embry-Riddle ahead, 8-6.
The lead bounced back-and-forth six times in the middle stages of the first half before the Eagles were able to stretch out their advantage to five points (18-13) with just under seven minutes to play in the period. That lead proved to be short-lived as WU closed out the half on a 14-2 run, giving the Royals a 27-20 advantage at the break.
In the second half, Warner wasn't able to build on its lead by much, only pulling ahead by 10 points for a handful of short stretches. But the Eagles never made a run of their own either and trailed by at least five points for the duration of the second period.
Bass knocked down a three that made it a 10-point contest (41-31) with 11:08 to play and Marie Fleurival hit a free throw that re-established the 10-point Royal lead (44-34) with 8:09 on the clock. Embry-Riddle trimmed the deficit to just five points (44-39) on a Whiting layup with 6:54 on the clock, but by the 3:20 mark it was back to a 10-point WU lead (53-43).
The Royals struggled from the charity stripe in the second half, converting 10-of-22, but they were 5-of-9 in the final minute of play to help seal the 60-54 win.
The Eagles are back on the road on Tuesday, Feb. 10, when they travel to West Palm Beach to take on Northwood in a game set for 5 p.m.
