ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd women's basketball team shot 56.7 percent from the field to claim an 87-65 victory over Embry-Riddle in the Eagles' final road game of the 2019-20 regular season, Saturday at the McArthur Center. The win solidified Eckerd's (18-5, 14-3 SSC) hold on second place in the Sunshine State Conference standings, while the Eagles fall to 9-16 overall and 7-12 in league play.
Both sides were matched in made three-pointers (7) and Embry-Riddle held a slight 14-12 edge in made free throws, but the Tritons connected on 34 of their 60 field goal attempts while limiting the Eagles to just 22 made field goals in the contest.
Nikki Tucker turned in her second straight 20-point performance to lead the Blue and Gold with 21 points and four rebounds.
Sydney Jones and
Sarah Jones added 13 and 12 points, respectively, and
Sydney Jones led the Eagles on the boards with nine rebounds.
Octavia Loll was the high scorer for the Tritons as her 50 percent (7-of-14) shooting clip contributed to a game-high 23 points.
The game was close throughout a high-scoring first quarter, which featured a tie and eight lead changes. The Eagles had six different scorers and were 50 percent (3-of-6) from long range and 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the field in the first 10 minutes, but the Tritons' 10-for-19 shooting gave the home team a 23-21 edge at the end of the frame.
The second quarter yielded just three scores from the field for the Eagles. ERAU scored just five points in the first 5:30 of the period, and an 18-5 Eckerd run helped the home team to a 45-33 advantage at the half.
In contrast to recent outings, the Eagle offense put together a solid performance in the third quarter, going 6-of-12 from the field, 3-of-7 from behind the three-point arc and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. However, the Tritons offense did not let up and they outscored the Eagles 22-18 in the third quarter to increase their lead to 16 points (67-51) heading into the final frame.
The start of the fourth period saw Eckerd quickly widen the gap to 22 points (73-51). A 6-2 spurt by the Eagles late in the quarter made it a 16-point (81-65) game, but the Tritons knocked down back-to-back threes to close out the game and seal the win.
The Eagles will look to play their way into the final spot in the eight-team Sunshine State Conference tournament on Saturday when they host Nova Southeastern in the final game of the regular season. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the ICI Center.
