WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team was victorious in its final road game of the season, topping Palm Beach Atlantic 66-62 on the Sailfish Senior Night on Wednesday. The victory improved Blue and Gold's record to 16-9, while the Sailfish dropped to 8-17.
 
"It's always tough to play on the road on the other team's senior night and today was no different," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson commented. "PBA hit some big shots and some players hit shots they don't usually hit. They played really well and played hard. We veered away from our defensive game plan in the second quarter and let them back in the game, but I'm proud of the girls for adjusting and playing better defense the second half.  Tara [Fields] had a huge night and worked really hard in the post and players made big free throws down the stretch. The team worked hard to prepare each other again and it paid off for us. "
 
Fields and Sabrina Whiting each had career-best performances against the Sailfish. Fields led all scorers with a career-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds, while Whiting dished out a game-high and career-best nine assists in addition to tallying 13 points.
 
After missing their first four shots of the night, the Eagles finally got on the board at the 8:19 mark of the first quarter when Whiting found Fields inside for a layup. After Hannah Grimm (18 pts) answered for the Sailfish, the Eagles went on a 21-6 run and closed out the quarter with a 23-10 lead.
 
The teams' fortunes were reversed in the second quarter. Fields finished a layup to start the period, but that was not a sign of things to come as the Eagles were scoreless over the next five minutes of play. The Eagles' offensive woes allowed the Sailfish to go on a 14-0 run, and after Fields ended the scoring drought with another layup, Rachel Holehouse tied the score at 27-27 with her only three of the game.
 
Lauren Ellenberger answered with a three of her own on the Eagles' next trip down the floor, and for the next 3:14, both teams traded baskets, resulting in a 34-33 Eagle edge at the half.
 
As was the case in the first two periods, Fields opened the scoring in the third and recorded six of the Eagles' first eight points of the period to stake ERAU to a 42-35 advantage. ERAU fell victim to another scoring slump, however, and were scoreless over the next four minutes, which allowed the Sailfish to reclaim the lead, 45-42. Whiting revived the Eagles' scoring with her second trey of the game, but Caroline Patrick answered with a long-range shot of her own to give the home team a 48-45 edge heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
With the Sailfish leading 53-49 at the 7:08 mark, Whiting was fouled on her way to the basket. She was unable to finish the traditional three-point play at the free throw line, but Fields grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Whiting who drilled another three to put the Eagles ahead 54-53.
 
The Eagles continued to cling to the one-point edge until the 2:34 mark when Mercedes Jorge went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to make it a three-point (60-57) game. The score remained the same over the next two minutes as neither side could score.
 
Ellenberger's layup with 27 seconds left made it 62-57 in favor of the Eagles, but Patrick's three cut the lead to two points with 16 seconds remaining. The Sailfish then resorted to forcing the Eagles to win it from the free throw line and the Blue and Gold did just that as Jorge and Ellenberger drained each of their two free throws to seal the victory.
 
The Eagles will close out the 2016-17 campaign at 5 p.m. on Saturday when they host Barry at the ICI Center.