TAMPA, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team returned to the win column on Saturday, courtesy of a 69-60 road win over Tampa. Saturday's win avenged an ERAU loss to the Spartans earlier in the season and improved Eagles' overall and Sunshine State Conference records to 19-6 and 13-5, respectively. The Spartans fall to 17-8 overall and 10-8 in league play.
Lauren Ellenberger had one of the best performances of her career, finishing with a game-high and career-best 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. The junior also tallied four rebounds and two steals, and her four assists helped her become the first member of ERAU's 300-assist club.
Sabrina Whiting totaled 15 points, four rebounds and two assists, while
Tara Fields added 13 points to the Eagle effort.
The Eagles matched their best perimeter shooting performance of the season as 10 of their 22 made field goals were three-pointers. ERAU was 45.5 percent from beyond the arc, 83.3 percent from the free throw line, and 44.0 percent from the field, and took care of the basketball, recording a season-low five turnovers in the win.
"Our team came out ready to play and focused," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson stated. "We were patient on offense and took care of the ball. We played solid defense in the first half, and had some breakdowns in the second, but we were able to hang on and get a road win against a very good team. "
The Eagles dominated the game from the first whistle as Ellenberger got things started with a three on ERAU's first possession. The Spartans answered with a Staja Tyghter (18pts.) jumper, but a 15-5 Eagle run over the next 7:30 led to an 18-10 ERAU lead at the end of the first quarter.
A relentless Eagle defense held the Spartans to just eight points in the second quarter. On the other side of the ball, the Eagles were 7-for-14 from the field, 3-for-6 from long range, and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe, and those numbers helped the Blue and Gold take a 20-point lead into the locker room at the half.
While the Eagles maintained their 50 percent shooting average in the third quarter, the Spartans improved on their 31.8 percent first-half shooting and started to mount a rally in the fourth quarter.
Tampa opened the frame on a 9-2 run and at the 6:26 mark, the Eagle lead had been trimmed to eight (53-45). Ellenberger halted the run with a three, but back-to-back baskets by Faith Saunders and Karma Jeremie (14 pts., 11 reb.) made the score 56-49 with 3:20 left to play.
Following a turnover by Jeremie, Ellenberger drilled another three, then came up with a steal and finished the play with a layup to put the Eagles back up by 13 (62-51).
The last minute saw the home team outscore ERAU 9-6, but sizeable advantage that the Eagles were able to build early on was too much for the Spartans to overcome.
"Our play today stemmed from two great practices and teammates pushing each other to get prepared," Nuxol-Wilson said. "We need to carry that over this week for our next road game! I'm very proud of our team and grateful for a great staff that continually works hard to prepare our team and players!"
The Eagles will play their final regular season road game at Florida Tech on Wednesday. That game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
