WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team erased an 11-point deficit to top Palm Beach Atlantic 63-60 on the road on Wednesday evening. The win completed an Eagle sweep of the Sailfish this season and boosted ERAU's overall record 6-12.
 
"I'm really proud of our team for fighting the whole game," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson said. "It was a total team effort. We did the little things down the stretch; we boxed out, defended and took care of the ball. We had some players come in off the bench and do a great job when three of our starters got into in foul trouble Hopefully we can build on this road win against a good conference opponent and keep improving."
 
Sabrina Whiting was the high scorer for the Eagles with 23 points, four steals and five rebounds. Mercedes Jorge turned in her second double-double performance of the season with 13 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, while Kalah Martin finished the night with eight points, eight boards and five assists.
 
The Eagles showcased strong inside play to start the contest as they were able to consistently get the ball into the post players, which resulted in an early 11-4 advantage. On the other side of the court, the Sailfish struggled offensively early on, turning the ball over three times and missing four of their first five shots in the first five minutes of play. But Janelle Cannon took over for PBAU in the closing minutes of the first quarter, scoring the home team's last 10 points of the period to help the Sailfish to a 14-13 lead.
 
With the score tied a 22-22 midway through the second, the Sailfish switched to a zone defense and that proved very effective, allowing PBAU to go on a 10-0 run on the way to a 35-28 halftime lead.
 
The Sailfish remained in front throughout the third quarter and widened the margin to 11 points (48-37) with 3:10 left in the frame. At the 1:32 mark, Jorge knocked down her second trey of the night and that keyed a 6-1 run that helped the Eagles close the gap to six (49-43).
 
The Eagles carried the momentum of the late run in the third into the fourth quarter, and a Jorge layup followed by a Whiting three cut the PBAU lead to 49-48 with 8:27 left in the contest. The Sailfish were able to build their lead back up to five, but the Eagles battled back once again and Jorge's layup at the 3:46 mark gave the Blue and Gold its first lead since the second quarter.
 
Two minutes later, an Ashley McWilliams free throw and an old-fashioned three-point play by Jorge increased the Eagle advantage to 60-55. Cannon made a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game, but McWilliams drove to the basket on the next Eagle possession and reclaimed the five-point advantage with her second layup of the night with 52 seconds remaining.
 
Darsan Deshazier drew fouls on consecutive possessions for the Sailfish and had a chance to make it a one-point game with four seconds left, but she missed her fourth attempt and the rebound went to Laniere Coleman who was fouled in the process. With 1.5 seconds left, Coleman connected on one of two free throw attempts to seal the Eagle win.
 
Cannon was unable to sustain the offensive output that yielded 22 points in the first half. She managed just five points in the final two quarters to finish with a game high 27-points and 10 rebounds as the Sailfish move to 8-10 overall.
 
 The Eagles close out their two-game road swing on Saturday when they travel to Rollins for a 2 p.m. tip against the Tars.