MELBOURNE, Fla. – Junior Tara Fields posted a career-high performance on Wednesday, but it was not enough to propel the Embry-Riddle women's basketball team to a victory as the Eagles fell to Florida Tech 73-60 at the Panthers' Clemente Center. The loss was the Eagles' first against a Sunshine State Conference opponent this season and moved the Eagles' overall record to 9-4, while the Panthers improved 7-6 on the year.
 
The Blue and Gold had four players score in double-figures, led by Fields who tallied 20 points to go with six rebounds and three blocks. Sabrina Whiting contributed 17 points, three steals and three assists, while Lauren Ellenberger and Mercedes Jorge added 10 points apiece.
 
Florida Tech's DeLise Williams led all scorers with 23 points, while Tereza Sedlakova added 15 to the Panther tally.
 
After falling behind by three (20-17) in the first quarter, the Eagles opened the second with a long-range basket by Jorge to tie the game, and an 13-7 run put the Blue and Gold out in front, 33-27.
 
With three seconds left in the first half, a Florida Tech foul sent Whiting to the charity stripe. After making the first, the junior missed the second but Jessica Savage battled to grab the rebound and threw up a shot that found the bottom of the net as the clock expired to put the Blue and Gold up 39-30 at the intermission.
 
The Eagles led for the majority of the third, but late in the period, the Panthers, who bested ERAU 21-13 on the boards, went on an 8-1 run to take over the lead 46-45. On their next trip down the court, the Eagles recorded three consecutive offensive rebounds and the third time was the charm as they got the ball to Ellenberger who knocked down her third three of the game to put the Eagles ahead 48-46 heading into the fourth.
 
The final frame belonged to the home team. Both sides were 5-of-15 from the field, but the Panthers bested the Eagles 16-7 in rebounds and 10-0 in second-chance points, and scored nine points on Eagle turnovers. Additionally, the Eagles were called for 14 fouls in the period, compared to just four on the Panthers, and that resulted in 17 made free throws for FIT, while ERAU was just 1-for-4 from the charity stripe.
 
"I think it was pretty obvious how we lost the game," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson observed. "We got killed on the boards tonight. We gave up 27 offensive rebounds and they scored on a lot of those. We also had some key players in foul trouble and really missed Laniere Coleman tonight.  I think it was a good game to learn from, though and we will keep improving from games like this. I definitely saw growth tonight from the game we played against Florida Tech last year."
 
The Eagles will be back at the ICI Center on Saturday to host Lynn at 5 p.m.