DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A balanced scoring effort propelled the Embry-Riddle Women's Basketball team to a 76-32 Sunshine State Conference win over Saint Leo, Saturday at the ICI Center. All 11 players who donned the Blue and Gold featured in the scoring column as the Eagles improved to 9-4 overall and 4-2 in league play.
Nikki Tucker led all players with 16 points and six rebounds.
Sigrid Sandstrom totaled nine points, while
Sarah Jones and
Morgan Ackermann contributed eight points apiece, with Jones also pulling down seven rebounds. Three nights after tying her career rebounding record (11),
Lauren Ellenberger eclipsed that mark with a game-high 12 boards in Saturday's win.
The Eagles rebounded from a slow start on the offensive end to finish the game shooting 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field. The Eagle defense forced 15 turnovers and held the Lions to just 25 percent (12-of-48) from the field to hold Saint Leo to its lowest scoring total of the year.
Both teams struggled to shoot the basketball in the early portion of Saturday's game, combining for just five made field goals in the first 10 minutes of play. The teams' shooting woes continued through the first five minutes of the second frame, but after a Madelin Lang jumper made it a five-point (15-10) game in favor of the Eagles, Ackermann took over for the Blue and Gold. The senior scored eight points in the last 4:47 of the period on a layup and back-to-back threes to double the Eagle advantage and Marisa Koopman capped the second quarter with her only trey of the contest to extend the home team's advantage to 26-15 at the half.
ERAU outscored the Lions 22-13 in the third quarter, but the final frame was where the Eagles put the game out of reach. The Eagles were 8-of-12 from field and 7-of-11 from the free throw line, while the Lions managed only three made field goals and one free throw. ERAU scored 12 points off six Saint Leo turnovers and outscored the visitors 24-8 in the period to seal the win.
The Lions' Alani Gallagher finished with 10 points, while Casey Wortley pulled down 10 rebounds as Saint Leo fell to 6-8 overall and 1-5 in league play.
The Eagles will close out the four-game home stand on Wednesday when they host Lynn at the ICI Center at 5:30 p.m. in another SSC match-up.
