WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team dropped a 52-50 decision at Rollins on Wednesday. In a defensive battle that saw both teams shoot below 30 percent, ERAU came up just one field goal short as Sigrid Sandstrom's potential game-winning three-pointer fell short at the buzzer. The win moves Rollins to 14-6 overall and extends its winning streak to six games while the Eagles fall to 13-7, suffering their third straight defeat.
 
"I am so proud of how hard the girls played and how we competed again," Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson said. "We got back to our defensive game and held them to 52 points. This conference is so tough, and we aren't going to win any road games in the SSC shooting low percentages from the field and the free throw line. But we were right there and we played as a team again tonight."
 
Sandstrom scored a career-high 15 points to go along with five rebounds while Sabrina Whiting contributed 13 points and four boards. Lauren Ellenberger tallied eight points and six rebounds while Mercedes Jorge had a team-high eight boards.
 
Tara Fields got the Eagles on the board first with a layup in the first minute of the game, and by the 7:48 mark it was 7-0 ERAU after a triple from Sandstrom. Just past the midway point of the first quarter, Whiting knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the Eagle lead to 11-2.
 
During the 11-2 run to open the game, Whiting scored four points, which put her over the 1,000-point total for her career, making her the first member of the 1,000-point club in Embry-Riddle women's basketball history.
 
After finishing the first quarter with a 14-10 lead, ERAU scored the first seven points of the second period to extend the margin to 11 points (21-10), the largest of the game. Rollins rallied back and by halftime the lead was just four points (24-20).
 
The Tars continued to ride the wave of momentum in the early stages of the third, opening the quarter with eight consecutive points to take a 28-24 lead, their first of the game. Embry-Riddle stayed close, and with 35 seconds left in the quarter Ellenberger knocked down a three to tie things at 36. Rollins was able to take a 38-36 lead into the final quarter after Tanaya Jones knocked down a jumper in the closing seconds of the period.
 
Sandstrom opened the scoring in the fourth with another trey, putting ERAU ahead by a point (39-38). A layup from Jessica Savage made it 41-38 Eagles, and from that point the game would be a back-and-forth affair with the lead changing hands seven times in the final 8:20. Laniere Coleman made a layup with 5:13 to play that gave ERAU a 45-44 lead, but Rollins answered back with a jumper from Rosser with 4:53 left to regain the lead, 46-45. The Eagles wouldn't retake the lead until a triple from Whiting with just over a minute left put ERAU on top, 49-48. Once again, Rollins quickly responded, this time with a jumper by Jones to pull ahead 50-49, and two free throws from Jones with 22 seconds left made it a three-point deficit (52-49). Whiting made one-of-two free throws on the next possession, but the Eagles missed a pair of shots in the final eight seconds that sealed the victory for Rollins.
 
The Eagles return home to host Tampa on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m. as part of a doubleheader, with the men's team taking on the Spartans at 7 p.m.