DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team came out on the winning end of a tightly contested Sunshine State Conference game on Wednesday evening, topping Rollins 71-66 at the ICI Center. Wednesday's win snapped a two-game losing skid and improved the Eagles' overall record to 12-7. The Eagles are now fifth in the SSC standings at 7-5, while Rollins slips to 9-9 overall and 6-6 in league play.
Wednesday's game was close from the first whistle and at the end of the first quarter, which featured three ties and two lead changes, the scored was knotted at 12-12.
Both teams traded baskets leading to a 16-16 tie at the 8:39 mark of the second period. The next four minutes featured an Eagle scoring drought that allowed the Tars to take a 20-16 lead. With 4:47 left in the half,
Sarah Jones and
Morgan Ackermann took over the scoring for ERAU. The duo combined for 13 points, including three consecutive three-pointers to lift the home team to a 31-26 advantage at the half.
The ERAU offense caught fire in the third quarter shooting 70 percent (7-of-10) from the field, including 2-of-4 from long range, and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. The Eagles opened the period with 14 unanswered points to widen the lead to 21 points (47-26). However, with five minutes left in the quarter, the Eagles lost focus and turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions. The Tars, who tallied eight points off Eagle miscues, connected on eight of their last 12 field goal attempts, including four threes, to cut the lead to five (51-46) heading into the final frame.
After a Rachel Jablonsky layup cut the Eagle lead to one point (55-54) at the 6:37 mark of the fourth quarter, Ackermann drilled back-to-back threes to put the Eagles back up by seven (61-54). The Tars were able to answer again at the 1:20 mark, it was still a one-point game (67-66) in favor of the Eagles.
The Eagles forced a turnover on the Tars' next trip down the floor, which led to a Jones free throw that made it a two-point game (68-66). Rollins came up empty on their next possession and immediately fouled
Nikki Tucker who pulled down the resulting rebound. Tucker went 2-for-2 from the charity striped to extend the lead to 70-66 with 12 seconds left in the contest. The Tars called timeout to draw up a play, but they were unable to execute, and after grabbing the rebound and drawing a foul,
Lauren Ellenberger sealed the victory at the free throw line.
Jones finished with a game-high 21 points to go with five assists and three rebounds, while Ackermann, who was 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, provided a spark off the bench with 18 points. Ellenberger and Tucker tallied 12 points apiece with Tucker picking up the second double-double of her career after hauling in 13 rebounds.
Jablonksi led the Rollins effort with 19 points, while Yari Martinez-Toro added 11, and Denise Daniels, Rachel Lia and Jaylyn Harrison chipped in 10 points apiece.
The Eagles go back on the road on Saturday when they travel to Tampa to take on a Spartan team that is currently tied for second in the league. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
