DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team suffered its second Sunshine State Conference road loss of the season on Wednesday, falling to 18^th-ranked Florida Southern 75-59 (6-1, -2-0 SSC) at the Mocs Jenkins Fieldhouse. Lauren Ellenberger tallied 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Nikki Tucker add 13 points for an Eagle squad that moved to 6-2 overall and 1-2 in the SSC.
 
The Eagles raced out to a quick 6-0 lead on back-to-back threes by Tucker and Ellenberger, but the Lady Mocs used a 21-5 run to overtake the Blue and Gold and take a 21-11 lead into the second quarter.
 
At the 3:02 mark of the second frame, Tucker knocked down her third three of the evening to cut the FSC lead to seven points (31-24). The Lady Mocs shot 64. 3 percent (9-of-14) from the field and bested the Eagles 22-18 in the period to lead 43-29 at the half.
 
The third quarter saw the Eagles edge the Lady Mocs 13-11, and a 9-3 run at the start of the fourth cut the home team's lead to 12 points (61-49) with 6:26 left to play. However, ERAU was unable to further narrow the gap as the Lady Mocs went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the last two minutes to seal the win.

"We have to keep learning from every game," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson stated. "Florida Southern is a good team with a lot of offensive weapons and they are a solid defensive team. Our turnovers really hurt us tonight and we didn't defend consistently enough tonight to counter those turnovers at the other end. We have a break from games until Dec. 17, so we will have  a lot of time to really work on individual improvement and team improvement. We just need to take advantage of that time and keep working and pushing each other."
 
The Eagles will step away from the basketball court for final exams next week before traveling to Nevada for the Trip Sports Las Vegas Hoopla. ERAU will face Pittsburgh State on Dec. 17 and Washburn on Dec. 18. Both games are scheduled for 2 p.m. PST.