BAYAMON, P.R. – For the second straight game, senior Taylor Cyphers was the leading scorer for the Embry-Riddle women's basketball team, but her 13 points were not enough to ensure a victory as the Eagles fell to Puerto Rico-Bayamon 58-44 on Saturday. The Eagles wrapped up in play in the Puerto Rico Classico and the 2015-16 campaign on Saturday, closing out the season with a 7-20 overall record.
 
Saturday's game tested more than the Eagles' basketball skills. With outdoor temperatures in the mid 80s, the Eagles played in a non-climate controlled facility against a physical team with only two officials.
 
""This was a good game for us to learn how to focus on what we can control and not external issues like other players and officials," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson said. "It tested our mental toughness and ability to stay composed in tough situations on the road. I think our team definitely learned and grew from the experience."
 
Cyphers earned her only double-double of the year in the loss adding 11 rebounds and three blocks to her 13-point tally. Sabrina Whiting was one rebound shy of a double-double as she finished with 11 points and nine boards, while Mercedes Jorge contributed eight points and six rebounds in the Eagle effort.
 
The game got off to a pedestrian start as both sides combined for just five points in the first 5:30. Cyphers scored six of the Eagles' first 10 points of the game to help the Blue and Gold stake a 10-3 lead over the Vaqueras. Fabiana Cosme's three –pointer at the 2:46 mark ended a two-minute UPRB scoring drought and keyed a 10-0 run that gave the Vaqueros a 13-10 lead over the Eagles at the end of the first quarter.
 
Free throws were the difference in an otherwise even second period. The Eagles were 4-of-11 and the Vaqueras were 5-of-12 from the field, but UPRB knocked down all six of their free throw attempts while the Eagles ended the period without a single trip to the charity stripe. That disparity helped UPRB extend its lead to 30-20 at the half.
 
The third period was marked by offensive struggles on both sides of the floor as the Eagles and the Vaqueras connected on just three field goals apiece. A single three-pointer by UPRB marginally increased the home team's lead to 11 points (42-31) heading into the fourth.
 
The Eagles remained within striking distance in the final stanza until the 7:59 mark when UPRB drained three consecutive treys to widen the margin to 22 points (58-36) with 5:19 left to play. ERAU outscored the Vaqueras 8-0 over the next two minutes, including back-to-back threes by Jorge and Whiting, but the Eagles were unable to score again in the final 2:08, resulting in the 14-point win for UPRB.
"We have to make free throws consistently," Nuxol-Wilson said of her team that was just 9-for-20 from the charity stripe. "I think that would have made a huge difference in the second half.
 
"Overall I'm proud of how much our team improved over the season and the growth of our young program has been really good. This is a special group of young ladies who will continue to get better."