MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team improved to 11-4 in Sunshine State Conference play with a 64-52 road win over Barry, Wednesday at the Bucs' Health & Sciences Center. The Eagles will put their 17-5 overall record on the line on Saturday when they host Lynn at the ICI Center at 4 p.m.
Nikki Tucker led all scorers with 20 points to go with seven rebounds and two assists as the Eagles completed the season sweep of the Bucs.
Sabrina Whiting added 10 points and six boards, while
Tara Fields, who landed in early foul trouble, totaled 11 points in 16 minutes of action.
Kiara Palmer (16 points, 10 rebounds) finished with a double-double for the Bucs who moved to 15-8 overall and 8-7 in league play.
As a team, the Eagles were 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field and scored 32 points in each half. The Eagle defense held the Bucs, who also evenly split their scoring with 26 points in each half, to 30.9 percent shooting and bested Barry on the boards, 39-33.
The first quarter was all Tucker as the freshman erupted for 16 points in the first 10 minutes of play. The Eagles scored the first four points, but the Bucs scored six unanswered to take a two-point lead. Over the next three and a half minutes, Tucker outscored the Bucs by herself, racking up 14 points to just 10 by the home team, and that output gave the Blue and Gold a 21-19 lead at the end of the first.
The second quarter got off to a very quiet start as ERAU and Barry scored just two points apiece in the first seven minutes of the period. The Eagles ended the scoring drought on a Whiting layup and held Barry to just seven points in the frame to take a six-point (32-26) lead into the halftime break.
The start of the third saw Barry convert on three straight possessions to close the gap to two points (34-32). ERAU responded by going on an 11-1 run to go up 47-36 heading into the final frame.
The Bucs' offensive struggles continued to start the fourth and the Eagles took advantage, outscoring the home team 9-2 to extend the lead to 18 points (56-38) with 6:15 left in the game. A pair of Palmer free throws sparked a 12-4 Barry run that made it a 10-point (60-50) game, but that was as close as the Bucs would get as Tucker knocked down a jumper for the Eagles' last basket of the game to seal the win.
