DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team extended its winning streak to three games with a decisive 77-51 defeat of Barry (11-5, 5-4), Saturday at the ICI Center. The Eagles, who were in a three-way for second in the Sunshine State Conference standings coming into Saturday's game, claimed the No. 2 spot outright with the win and will take a 12-4 overall record (6-3 SSC) into next Wednesday's home game against Florida Tech.
 
Senior Tara Fields was the game's leading scorer with 22 points and four rebounds. Nikki Tucker and Marisa Koopman added 14 and 10 points, respectively, while Lauren Ellenberger matched her career high rebound total with 10.
 
As a team, the Eagles were 43.9 percent from the field with 10 players appearing in the scoring column. The Eagles also did a good job of turning defense into offense in the second quarter, forcing 23 Barry turnovers and converting those miscues into 22 points.
 
The Eagles raced out to a 7-0 lead to start the game and never looked back. The Bucs made it a one-point game on a Kiara Palmer layup early in the contest, but ERAU responded with a 10-0 run, and at the end of the first period, the lead had grown to 12 (22-10).
 
The second quarter saw the Blue and Gold improve on its 39.1 field goal shooting percentage in the first quarter, going 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from the field in the second frame. Ida Andersson and Juhnae Richardson opened the quarter with back-to-back three for the Bucs that made it a nine-point (25-19) game, but a five-point outburst by Morgan Ackermann keyed another Eagle run, which led to a 46-29 advantage for the home team at the half.
 
The Eagles remained focused coming out of the locker room for the second 20 minutes of the game, playing unrelenting defense, while creating and finishing scoring opportunities. They doubled up the visitors 18-9 in the third quarter, and led by as many as 29 (75-46) on the way to securing the home victory.
 
"The team played a great defensive game tonight, and we rebounded and took care of the ball," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson observed. "A lot of our girls have been getting extra time in the gym with Coach [Shannon] Murphy and working on their shooting, and it paid off tonight with how well we shot the ball.

"We have to stay focused and keep taking care of the details and execute our game plan. I'm really proud of everyone and how hard they have been working in practice to push each other. Barry is a really good team. I am so proud of our defensive effort."
 
Wednesday's game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. tip.