WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Rollins 66-61 on the Tars' home court inside Warden Arena on Wednesday. Wednesday's win, which was ERAU Women's Basketball's first road win against the Tars, improved the Eagles' Sunshine State Conference ledger to 2-1, while their overall record stands at 4-3. Rollins dropped to 6-2 overall and 0-1 in league play.
A strong all-around performance by
Nikki Tucker resulted in the second double-double of the season for the junior who tallied a season-best 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Shelby Bischoff,
Imani Jones and
Sarah Jones finished with nine points apiece for the Eagles who were 20-of 49- from the field and 18-of-19 from the free throw line.
The Eagles opened the game on a 6-0 run, but after substituting all five starters, Rollins got into a rhythm. The Rollins defense forced eight first-quarter turnovers, which the Tars converted into 11 points and at the end of the first 10 minutes of action, the Eagles trailed 16-13.
In the second quarter the Eagles struggled shooting the basketball, connecting on only 25 percent (4-of-16) of their field goal attempts. The Tars, on the other hand, were 50 percent from the field, including a 40 percent clip from beyond the arc. Rollins also converted on all four of their free throw attempts while the Eagles did not make a single trip to the charity stripe in the first half, and that discrepancy helped Rollins take a 36-24 lead into the locker room at the half.
Sarah Jones opened the third quarter with a three, and four free throws and a jumper by Tucker helped cut the Rollins lead to seven (40-33), but once again miscues plagued the Eagles as they turned the ball over four times in the first five minutes of the quarter which helped the Tars build their lead back up to 11 (47-36).
With 1:49 left in the third period, Taniyah Pluviose scored on a fast break to make it 49-39 in favor of the home team. Those were the last points the Tars would score until the 6:09 mark of the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Eagles, who shot 60 percent from the field and 60 percent from long range in the third, went on a 10-0 run that spanned the last 1:23 of the third and the first 3:51 of the fourth. With 6:31 left in the contest, a
Rachel Murray three gave ERAU its first lead, 51-49, since the start of the first quarter.
Free throws proved to be key for the Eagles, who after not making a single trip to the free throw line in the first half, were 14-of-14 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter alone.
With 19 seconds left to play, Pluviose scored on a layup and made a free throw to make it a one-point (62-61) game. Murray made both free throws after being fouled on the Eagles' next possession to make it 64-61. After missing a three-pointer on the other end, the Tars pulled down the offensive rebound, but Tucker came up with a big steal with four seconds left and after being fouled, she made both free throws to seal the win for the Eagles.
"Free throws were huge for us tonight," ERAU Head Coach
Lisa Wilson noted. "I'm really happy with how we stepped up and made those tonight and that was the difference-maker. We are really proud of how hard our players fought and scrapped tonight. After getting punched a little in the first half, we were able to settle down some and execute better. It wasn't a pretty win but it was a very good road win. Playing at Rollins is never easy, so we are happy to escape with a win. Hopefully our team learns some things from the game tonight that will help us down the road."
The Eagles will have a 10-day break for final exams and will return to action on Dec. 14 when they host SSC foe Palm Beach Atlantic at 4 p.m. at the ICI Center.
