DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team suffered its first Sunshine State Conference loss of the season on Wednesday, falling to Saint Leo (RV) 77-66 at the ICI Center. The loss puts the Eagles at 4-2 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Lions remain unbeaten at 6-0 and 1-0 in the SSC.
The long-range shot was key for the Lions in Wednesday's game as they knocked down 11 of their 24 three-point attempts. Amanda Ulrich and Alex Button led the way with four treys each with Ulrich leading all players with 23 points.
Keturah Balabyekkubo led the Blue and Gold with a career-high 17 points to go with seven rebounds and two blocks.
Rachel Murray finished with 14 points and two assists, while
Madyson Jean-Louis chipped in12 points in the Eagle effort.
The first three-pointer of the night came from the Jean-Louis to give ERAU an early three-point lead, but the Lions immediately countered with a long-range shot of their own. A close first quarter featured three ties and three lead changes with neither side leading by more than three points. The Eagles shot the ball well in the first 10 minutes, going 6-of-11 from the field, but heading into the second quarter, it was the Lions who held a 17-15 edge.
After a 4-for-4 free throw performance to start the game, the Eagles went cold from the charity stripe midway through second quarter. Following a pair of free throws by Jean-Louis that tied the game at 21-21, the Lions went on a 7-2 run to open a 28-23 lead. Saint Leo committed a foul on the Eagles' next trip down the floor and was then assessed a technical foul, giving the Blue and Gold a chance to close the gap. The Eagles missed all four free throws allowing the Lions to hold on to their five-point lead. The Eagles managed to come within two (30-28), but the Lions ended the quarter on an 8-3 run to take a 38-31 advantage into the halftime break.
A lone three-point field goal separated the teams in the fourth quarter. The Eagles were 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from the field compared a .535 (7-of-13) shooting percentage by the Lions. But the Lions were 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, while Eagles hit just two of their four three-point attempts. The Lions outscored the Eagles by just one point (20-19) in the third, but their lead heading into the fourth was 58-50.
Ulrich's jumper to start the fourth quarter extended the SLU lead to 10 (60-50), but a 5-0 run helped the Eagles make it a five-point (62-57) game. Although they shot 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the field in the final 10 minutes, the Eagles were unable to narrow the gap further as the Lions used six field goals, two threes and five free throws to steadily build up to the final 11-point margin.
The Eagles will be on the road for their next contest, traveling across the state to take on No. 12/11 Tampa at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The 2022-23 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
