DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team notched perhaps its biggest win of the season on Saturday, upending NCAA II No. 12 (WBCA Coaches poll) Florida Southern 83-75 at the ICI Center. Saturday's win was the Eagles' first against a ranked opponent and improved the Eagles' record to 14-8 overall and 9-6 in the Sunshine State Conference.
 
Coming into Saturday's game, the Lady Mocs had just one loss on the year and were unbeaten in league play. The top three-point shooting team in the league, Florida Southern was outgunned by the Eagles who knocked down a season-high 16 treys, compared to just eight by the Lady Mocs, who are now 20-2 on the year and 12-1 in the SSC.
 
"That was a great job by our entire team to stick with the game plan and be mentally focused for the entire game," ERAU Head Coach Lisa-Nuxol Wilson said. "Obviously hitting 16 threes helps a lot but executing well to get each other those open looks and reading our screens was crucial. We are really proud of individual and team defense against an offensive power house like Florida Southern. They have a lot of weapons and aren't easy to guard, but we did what we needed to tonight to get the win. Now we have to carry this momentum and defensive effort over to the road trip at Lynn on Wednesday. "
 
The Eagles had four players score in double figures and were led by Morgan Ackermann who came off the bench and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and 6-of-6 from beyond the arc for 20 points. Lauren Ellenberger added 17 points and eight assists, while Nikki Tucker tallied 15 points, eight boards and a career-high eight assists, and Sarah Jones chipped in 12 points.
 
A hot-shooting Eagle team got off to a fast start in Saturday's game with their first points of the game coming on a Sarah Jones three-pointer. The Blue and Gold held the visitors to just three points in the first three minutes of play and long-range shooting, led by four threes from Ackermann, helped the Eagle advantage swell to as many as 18 points (24-6) before they closed out the first period with a 24-10 lead.
 
The Eagles continued to shoot the ball well in the second quarter, going 6-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc, but the Lady Mocs' offense came alive in the second frame, and a 64.7 percent (11-of-17) shooting clip helped them close the gap to five (39-34) at the half.
 
The Eagles didn't miss a shot on their first five possessions of the third quarter and built the advantage back up to 13 points with 3:49 left in the period. Once again, the Lady Mocs were able to close the gap and used a 9-2 run to make it a six-point (60-54) game heading into the final frame.
 
Florida Southern carried its third quarter momentum into the fourth and at the 8:28 mark, Mackenzie Steele hit a three that gave the Lady Mocs their first lead of the game, 61-60. Both teams traded baskets over the next five minutes of a fourth period that featured six ties and six lead changes.
 
At the 2:59 mark, Ashley Snell finished a layup that put FSC up 75-73, but those were the last points the Lady Mocs would put on the board as they missed each of their last five shots. On the other side of the ball, Ellenberger made a jumper and knocked down all five of her free throw attempts, and those points, along with a three from Jones, helped the Eagles close out the game on a 10-0 run to seal the victory.
 
Julia Jenike was the game's high scorer with 21 points, while Anja Fuchs-Robetin pulled down a game-high nine rebounds in the Florida Southern effort.
 
The Eagles are back on the road on Wednesday when they travel to Boca Raton to take on Lynn. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.