DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - After suffering just their second loss of 2017-18, the Embry-Riddle women's basketball team quickly put it behind them to close out the non-conference portion of the season schedule with a 68-60 win over St. Edward's on Tuesday morning. The Eagles (9-2) put forth a balanced effort with four players reaching double-figures, and despite allowing 19 offensive rebounds to the Hilltoppers (6-7), pulled away late to head into the holiday break with a win.

"This was a great way to end the semester with a win," Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson said. "The team worked really hard this semester on and off the court and I'm really proud of them."

The first five minutes of the third quarter proved to be the turning point of the game as ERAU opened the second half on a 16-0 run to erase a two-point halftime deficit and turn it into a 48-34 lead. Back-to-back triples from Sabrina Whiting and Lauren Ellenberger started the frame before Ashley McWilliams followed with a jumper in the paint to put ERAU up 40-34. The Eagle defense held St. Edward's to an 0-for-10 effort from the field to start the third quarter, and Tara Fields' layup off a Morgan Ackermann assist at the 3:55 mark pushed the Eagle lead to 48-34 before the Hilltoppers finally got on the board in the quarter.

All-in-all, the Eagles outscored the visitors 18-9 in the third and took a 50-43 lead into the fourth, but three straight points from Isabel Hernandez to start the final period cut the lead to three. McWilliams hit a triple on the next Eagle possession, but Brooke Panfili was able to answer with a trey of her own and the Eagles couldn't seem to put much distance between themselves and St. Edward's as the Hilltoppers cut their deficit to 61-56 on a Hernandez layup with just over three minutes to go. Ellenberger came up big with a driving layup to push the cushion back to  seven and the Eagles' defense delivered three straight stops before Whiting was able to essentially end the game with a layup at the one-minute mark to give ERAU a 65-56 lead.  Embry-Riddle finished the contest at the free throw line, going 3-for-4 to ice the game.

The first half saw a wild swing as the home team enjoyed an 11-point lead midway through the first quarter only to see the Hilltoppers storm back and take a 34-32 lead on a Bailey Hill layup with 17 seconds left in the second quarter. ERAU got out to a 9-0 lead on a Nicole Tucker layup, and led 18-7 after a pair of Sigrid Sandstrom free throws with 50 seconds left in the first. However, a Hernandez three after she made a layup closed the opening quarter for SEU, trimming the ERAU lead to 18-12. With Embry-Riddle leading 30-26 with three minutes to play in the second, the Hilltoppers ended the half on a 10-4 run, taking their only lead of the game right before the break.

ERAU shot 55 percent from the floor, and converted 7-of-16 three-point attempts, but 19 offensive rebounds for SEU led to 18 second chance points for the Hilltoppers, keeping the game close.

"St. Edward's and Illinois Springfield are both really good teams and it was good for us to play them both before we head in SSC play after the break," Nuxol-Wilson said.

Whiting finished with 16 points and three assists, while Ellenberger had 14 points and Fields went for 13 points and three steals. McWilliams had a season-high 12 points, and Tucker recorded seven points, nine boards and six assists.

The Blue and Gold return to action on Dec. 30 when they play Tampa in SSC play in the ICI Center at 4 p.m.