DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team scored 33 points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to overtake Saint Leo as the Eagles fell to the Lions 79-73 in Sunshine State Conference play at the ICI Center on Saturday. The Eagles gave the Lions all they could handle late in the contest, but the visitors were able to hold on for the win, improving to 14-7 overall and 9-4 in the league, while the Eagles moved to 8-9 overall and 6-6 in the SSC.
 
Four Eagle players posted double-digit scoring performances, led by Nikki Tucker who had a game-high 21 points along with five rebounds and five assists. Keturah Balbyekkubo had a career-high 14 points, which was matched by Madyson Jean-Louis, who also pulled down six boards. Shelby Bischoff chipped in 10 points off the bench.
 
The contest was close at the beginning as neither team led by more than two points through the first five minutes of play. Saint Leo went on a brief spurt late in the first quarter and led 17-14 heading in to the second.
 
After Bischoff knocked down one of her two three-pointers to tie the game, the Lions went on a 19-6 run and their 55.5 percent (15-of-27) shooting in the first half helped the visitors to 36-28 lead at the half.
 
The Eagles struggled to get going in the third quarter as they had six consecutive turnovers to start the frame. The miscues, coupled with the Eagles not connecting on any of their shots helped the Lions widen the gap to 19 points (47-28) with 5:28 left in the period. The Eagles managed to cut the lead to 10 (50-40) late in the third but faced an uphill battle, down 14 (54-40) heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
At the midway point of the fourth quarter, Eagles still faced a significant deficit as they trailed 66-49 with 5:28 remaining in the game. After a minute and a half of scoreless basketball, the Eagles went to work.
 
Tucker started the run with jumper at the 4:06 mark and over the next three minutes, the Eagles forced three turnovers and outscored the Lions 10-2 to cut the lead to nine (68-59). Saint Leo withstood the Eagle surge and built their cushion back up to 10, but back-to-back threes by Jean-Louis, including a trey at the buzzer, helped the Eagles finish down just six points at the final whistle.
 
Amanda Ulrich matched Tucker's 21 points as the leading scorer for the Lions. Tori Lesko finished with 17, while Ayana Trigg, who was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, added 15 points.
 
The Eagles will be back in the ICI Center on Wednesday to Florida Tech in another SSC fixture. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.