BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team held off a persistent Lynn team on the road Wednesday night.
 
With just 24 seconds remaining in the game, and Lynn (13-8, 7-8 SSC) inbounding, ERAU (15-8, 10-6 SSC) was trailing 71-70 and in dire need of a big-time play. Sigrid Sandstrom delivered, stealing the inbounds pass and assisting Lauren Ellenberger on the go-ahead layup to give the Eagles a 72-71 lead with 18 seconds left.
 
After making another stop on the defensive end, Ellenberger would sink two free throws to increase the Eagle lead to 74-71 with four seconds left. The Fighting Knights were unable to get a shot off on their final possession as the Blue and Gold closed out a 74-71 victory in a key Sunshine State Conference matchup.
 
The combo of Ellenberger and Nikki Tucker scored all of ERAU's 18 points in the fourth quarter. Ellenberger finished with 20 points, eight assists and seven boards, and Tucker tallied 19 points and nine rebounds. The Eagles converted on 11 3-pointers and went 11-13 from the free throw line.
 
"We came out ready to play and had a decent first half," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson said. "Lynn is a good team and made a run in the second half. It came down to the wire at the end, but we had some players make big defensive plays. Any win on the road at this time of the season is huge. It was a total team effort tonight."

ERAU got off to a hot start to the game offensively. An 11-0 run, including three 3-pointers gave the Eagles a 20-4 lead midway through the first quarter. Lynn answered with a 7-0 run of its own thanks to forcing turnovers on the defensive end. Morgan Ackermann's 3-pointer with two minutes left stalled the Fighting Knight's momentum. The Blue and Gold led 25-19 at the end of the quarter.
 
Loie Webb opened the second quarter with a trey to cut ERAU's lead to one possession. With seven minutes remaining in the period, Lynn trailed 29-28 before the Eagles went on an 11-1 run by capitalizing on seven Lynn turnovers. Ackermann had eight points during the run, as the Eagles took a 40-29 lead.
 
The Blue and Gold went into the locker room leading 45-31. Ackermann led the Eagles at halftime with 11 points including 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line. ERAU scored 13 points off turnovers in the half.
 
In the third quarter, Lynn attempted to chip away at the Eagles' lead. Both teams traded baskets in the first half of the period. The Fighting Knights were able to cut the ERAU lead to seven after finishing the quarter on a 6-0 run.
 
Lynn refused to go away in the fourth quarter. With 2:45 remaining in the game, the Fighting Knights trimmed the ERAU lead to one. The Eagles failed to convert on three layup opportunities before an ERAU foul sent Christina Potts to the charity stripe with a chance to give Lynn the lead. Potts made both free throws to give the hosts their first lead of the game, 71-70.
 
After missing a 3-point attempt, the Eagles forced a 10-second violation to regain possession. A foul would send Sandstrom to the free throw line to regain the lead for the Blue and Gold with 24 seconds left; however, the Sweden native would miss both free throws.
 
It seemed as if the Fighting Knights were going to steal a win, but Sandstrom made the play of the game on defense to make up for the missed free throws. Ellenberger closed out the game on both ends of the floor, making both free throws and forcing stops on Lynn's last two possessions.

Tonight's win and a Nova Southeastern loss places the Eagles in a tie for fourth place in the SSC standings. ERAU will travel to Saint Leo on Saturday for its next matchup. The game against the Lions tips off at 5:30 p.m.