DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Saint Leo women's basketball team used a last-second shot to escape the ICI Center with a win over Embry-Riddle (6-16) on Saturday evening. Izabell Skoogh's three-pointer went through the net as the horn signaling the end of the contest sounded to give the Lions a 59-56 win over the Eagles.
 
The Lions got their long-range game going early as three of their first four baskets came from behind the three-point line. While Eagles were without a three in the first quarter, compared to 4-of-6 by the Lions, they enjoyed success at the charity stripe as their 9-of-13 free throws had them level with the visitors, 17-17, at the end of the first 10 minutes.
 
Saint Leo continued to rely heavily on the three again in the second quarter and 6-for-12 shooting from long range gave them a 36-30 edge heading into the halftime break.
 
In a fairly even third period, the Eagles had a slight edge in shooting from the field, going 7-for-13, while the Lions shot 6-for-12. ERAU outscored Saint Leo in 16-13 in that frame and that helped the home team close the gap to three points (49-46) with 10 minutes left to play.
 
The first four minutes of the fourth featured a Lion layup and an Eagle free throw as both teams' shooting cooled considerably with ERAU shooting 25 percent and Saint Leo shooting 36.4 percent.
 
Trailing 51-47, the Eagles got the ball inside to Tara Fields who made it a two-point game. The Lions came up empty on back-to-back attempts on their next trip down the floor, and Sabrina Whiting grabbed the rebound on the second miss and raced to the other en of the floor where she finished a layup to tie the score at 51-51.
 
After Mary Redmond made a free throw for the Lions, Fields scored two more points to put the Eagles up by one. The Lions hit another shot after which, Whiting was sent to the free throw line where she made both attempts to put the Eagles back in front, 55-54, with 2:05 left to play.
 
Following turnovers and missed shots on both sides, Saint Leo got the ball back on offense. The Lions missed back-to-back three-point attempts, but strong offensive rebounding gave them additional chances to score, and Alysia Johnson capitalized with a layup that put the visitors up 56-55 with 27 seconds remaining.
 
Coming out of a timeout, the Eagles got the ball to Mercedes Jorge who was fouled as she drove to the basket. The junior missed her first free throw but made the second to tie the score at 56-56 with seven seconds showing on the clock.
 
The Lions then inbounded the ball to Skoogh who took it down the court. With clocked winding down she heaved a three toward the basket and as the time expired, the ball went through the net, giving the Lions the win.
 
Whiting was the leading scorer for the Blue and Gold with 17 points, seven rebounds and six steals, while Fields added a season-high 10 points. Redmond led all scorers with 25 points as the Lions improved to 5-18 with the win.
 
The Eagles will be back in the ICI Center on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. tip against Nova Southeastern.