SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team was unable to come away with a win in its third road game of the season on Saturday as the Eagles (3-4, 1-1) fell to Saint Leo (4-4, 2-1) 76-57 in Sunshine State Conference play.
Liz Behan was the leading scorer for the Eagles, finishing with a career-high 15 points. Jenna Teterycz also posted the best scoring performance of her career with nine points, while
Nikki Tucker was one point short of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
The Eagles were 43 percent (22-of-51) from the field, compared to Saint Leo's 49.3 percent (32-65) and had a 39-28 advantage on the boards over the home team. Perhaps the most significant discrepancy between the two sides was in ball handling as the Lions were able to convert 24 Eagle turnovers into 30 points.
The Eagles got off to a slow start in Saturday's game, managing just two points in the first three minutes of play. The Eagles were also plagued by seven turnovers which led to nine Saint Leo points and at the end of the first frame the Lions led 24-13.
In the second quarter the Lions built a double-digit lead, and with 4:22 left in the frame, the lead for the home team was 13 points (34-21). The Eagles, who outscored the Lions 16-12 in the quarter, went on an 8-2 run in the final 2:16 and trailed by just seven points (36-29) at the half.
In the third quarter, the Eagles cut the Lion lead to five (38-33) at the 7:54 mark, but back-to-back threes by Alex Button helped the Lions reclaim the 13-point advantage. A steal and fast break triggered an 8-3 run for Saint Leo over the last 3:56 and late in the third, the Lions' lead had ballooned to 20 points (58-38).
The fourth quarter was more evenly contested with the Lions outscoring the Eagles by a slim 18-17 margin, but the damage done in the first and third quarters was too much for the Eagles to overcome and they left the Marion Bowman Center with their first conference loss of the season.
The Eagles will be back in the ICI Center on Wednesday to host 15th-ranked Tampa at 5:30 p.m.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
