FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team outscored Nova Southeastern in the first and fourth quarters, but big second and third frames propelled the Sharks to an 84-71 Sunshine State Conference win, Saturday at Rick Case Arena. The loss drops the Eagles to 5-11 overall and 3-7 in league play.
Sarah Jones recorded her second highest point total of the season with 19 points and four steals to pace the Eagle offense. On the other side of the ball, Jordan Tully totaled a game high 27 points and Hailey Conley recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to help the Sharks improve to 9-7 overall and 5-4 in the SSC.
ERAU opened the game on a 5-0 run and five minutes into the contest they led the home team by eight points (11-3). The Blue and Gold built the lead up to 10 (20-10), and behind 61.5 percent shooting and a seven-point first quarter performance by
Nikki Tucker, the Eagles took a 20-12 lead into the second frame.
The second quarter saw ERAU struggle on the offensive end as a 19-2 Shark run helped NSU overtake the Eagles 38-32 at the half.
The Eagles' shooting ticked back up to 50 percent in the third frame as they connected on six of their 12 field goal attempts and were 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. However, the Sharks rose to the challenge as they went 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the field, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc, to increase their advantage to 15 points (67-52) heading into the final frame.
NSU continued to have the better of the offense at the start of the fourth quarter and eventually widened the gap to 21 points (80-59). At the 5:47 mark, Jones knocked down a pair of free throws and those points marked the start of a 12-2 Eagle run that cut the Shark lead to 11 (82-71) with 2:27 left in the contest. But neither team was able to record a point over the next two minutes and Tully's layup in the closing seconds sealed the 13-point win for NSU.
"We have learned a lot from the first half of conference play, and we are continually getting better with our chemistry on the court together," ERAU
Lisa Wilson commented. "The team definitely fought hard today and the way we played wasn't dictated by the score. We just need to get better at valuing every possession and making each one count. We forced 28 turnovers tonight with our defensive intensity but didn't always convert that into points. We got beat in the paint again, will be ready for the next go around with SSC play in that area. "
The Eagles have a one-week break until they begin the second half of the conference season against Lynn in Boca Raton on January 25. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.
