DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 2016-17 Embry-Riddle women's basketball team is off to the best start in program history. The Eagles notched a 66-64 win over Eckerd (2-2) on Saturday to open the season at 4-0 for the first time since the program began in 2014-15. The win did not come easy as ERAU had to fight off a late surge by the Tritons to come away with the win.
 
"I'm thankful for the win and that we did just enough down the stretch to keep our lead for the win," ERAU Head Coach Lisa-Nuxol Wilson said. "However we need to find a way to play all four quarters. We have had a come-from-behind win and tonight we had to learn how to maintain a lead down the stretch. It was a great learning experience for us and we will grow from the situation. Foul trouble by some key players played a role, but I think our bench stepped up and made some defensive plays and came in and did a great job in a lot of areas for us!"
 
The Eagles had eight players appear in the scoring column, led by Tara Fields' career-high 14-point night. Mercedes Jorge added 13 and a team-high six rebounds, while Lauren Ellenberger had 10 points and matched her career-best in assists with eight.
 
The Eagles and the Tritons were even in field goal percentage in the first quarter. The difference was that the Eagles knocked down eight of their 16 attempts, including two of three from long range, while the Tritons were 5-for-10 from the field and 0-for-2 from beyond the arc. That difference led to an 18-13 Eagle advantage at the end of the period.
 
The second 10 minutes of play were marked by turnovers with each team turning the ball over nine times. Once again, the Eagles held a slight advantage in made field goals in the quarter, connecting on five shots compared to four by Eckerd, and the Blue and Gold took a 29-25 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
The inside game helped the Eagles open up a 15-point lead in the third quarter with 16 of their 23 points coming in the paint, and eight of those courtesy of Fields. ERAU outscored the Tritons 15-5 to open the frame and shot 83.3 percent (10-12) from the field to take a 52-37 lead into the final period.
 
The momentum appeared to be on the Eagles' side as they headed into the final stanza, but it was the Tritons who dominated the quarter. Ashley Folsom hit a jumper at the 8:06 mark and that sparked a 19-5 Eckerd run that made it a three-point (61-58) game with 1:41 left in the game.
 
The Eagles were once again plagued by miscues, committing nine turnovers in the final 10 minutes, and one of those turnovers led to a two-point trip to the free throw line by Kacie Juday that pulled the Tritons within one (61-60) with 1:31 left to play.
 
Three consecutive makes at the free throw line put the Eagles back up by four, but layups by Folsom and Victoria Vine made it a one-point game (65-64) once again with 10 seconds showing on the clock. Following Vine's layup, the Tritons fouled Lauren Ellenberger almost immediately on the inbounds pass. After Ellenberger made one of two free throws, the Tritons raced the length of the court and got the ball to Vine once again. The senior was unable to connect on the jumper and Shelby Bishoff pulled down the rebound as time expired to secure the Eagle victory.
 
Vine finished with a game-high 25 points, while Folsom added 22 for the Tritons.
 
The Eagles step away from play against Sunshine State competition next week to host Central Missouri at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.