TAMPA, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team suffered its third consecutive loss in Sunshine State Conference play on Wednesday, falling to league leader Tampa 65-40 at the Spartans' Bob Martinez Center. The Eagles are now 5-8 on the year and 3-4 in the SSC, while the Spartans remain unbeaten in league play at 5-0 and are 9-3 overall.
 
The Eagles scored the first basket of the game, but they were quickly overtaken by the Spartans who used a 12-0 run to open up a 10-point (12-2) advantage. ERAU managed just five points in the first quarter and were scoreless for a nine-minute span between the first and second periods. A Nikki Tucker three-pointer ended the scoring drought at the 3:54 mark of the second frame, but the Spartans, who scored 10 points off Eagle turnovers and outrebounded the Eagles 31-16 in the first half, led by as many as 22 points (27-5) before taking a 30-12 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
Back-to-back Tucker threes marked the start of the third quarter and the Blue and Gold outscored the home team 6-2 in the first 1:16 to cut it to an 11-point (32-21) game. The margin remained at 11 until the 6:15 mark when a Melijah Sullivan jumper keyed an 8-2 run that built the Tampa cushion back up to 17 points. 
 
The end of the third quarter saw Sarah Jones knock down her only three of the night make it 44-30. However, that was as close as the Eagles would get. ERAU was just 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from the field in the final 10 minutes of action, compared to a 63.6 percent (7-of-11) clip by the Spartans, who outscored the Eagles 21-10 in the final frame to secure the win.
 
The only Eagle scorer in double figures, Tucker tallied 10 points and nine rebounds. Dori Nagy led all players with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Lashayla Wright-Pond added 17 points and 12 boards in the Tampa effort.
 
The Eagles return to the ICI Center on Saturday to host Eckerd at 4 p.m.