DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team withstood a second-half surge by Lynn (2-4, 0-1) to earn its first Sunshine State Conference win of the season on Saturday. The Eagles held a comfortable halftime lead, but had to survive a fierce rally by the Fighting Knights to win 71-69 and improve to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in league play.
 
"I'm really proud of our team for pulling this win out," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Wilson said. "It was really good experience for us in a lot of areas and a few players really stepped up. Nikki Tucker with 18 rebounds and Imani Jones knocking down free throws down the stretch was huge. We had a game plan and they prepared each other in the short amount of practice time we had and stuck with it for most of the game."
 
Sarah Jones led the Eagle offense with 18 points, while Nikki Tucker added 15 points to go with an ERAU single-game record 18 rebounds. Imani Jones was one point shy of a double-double with 11 points, nine boards and three assists, and Keturah Balabyekkubo rounded out the Eagles' double-digit scorers with 10 points.
 
Lynn took a 5-3 lead early in the contest, but at the 6:35 mark of the first quarter, Shelby Bischoff found Tucker on the fast break and Tucker's layup started a 10-0 run that gave ERAU a 13-5 lead. The Eagle run prompted a Lynn time out, but the Eagles, who were 9-of-18 from the field, including a 3-of-6 clip from long range, extended a six-point first quarter lead to as many as 18 in the second before taking a 46-30 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
After shooting 44.4 percent from the field in the first half, the Eagles struggled get their offense going in the third quarter. ERAU made just three field goals and totaled nine points in the third period, while Lynn converted its 46.7 field goal percentage into 14 third quarter points. A Taylor Jones jumper at the 6:48 mark keyed an 8-0 Lynn run that cut the ERAU halftime advantage in half, 48-40. 
 
The Eagles were able to build their cushion back to double figures and led 58-46 with 9:09 remaining in the contest, but their shooting woes continues in the fourth quarter as again, they were only able connect on three attempts from the field. The Fighting Knights capitalized on the Eagles' struggles and used a 16-2 run to take over the lead, 62-60, with 3:24 remaining.
 
After Kevyn McKae made it a five-point game at the 2:47 mark, Rachel Murray found Sarah Jones on the left side and she knocked down her fourth three of the day to cut the Lynn lead to two (65-63). From that point it was clutch free throw shooting and solid defense that propelled the Eagles to the win. Imani Jones knocked down six consecutive free throws, while the defense came up with key offensive rebounds to secure the two-point victory.
 
Taylor Jones finished with 15 points for Lynn, while Sarah Bauer led all players with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
 
The Eagles will step away from conference play on Wednesday to host Oakland City. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.