DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team closed out the Embry-Riddle Holiday Classic with its second win in a row on Saturday, topping Young Harris 66-57 at the ICI Center. The Eagles take a 6-4 record into the holiday break while the Mountain Lions drop to 5-4 with the loss.
Leading the offensive charge for the Blue and Gold was
Jenna Teterycz who followed last night's career-high 12 points with another career-best as she tallied 17 points shooting 8-of-9 from the field.
Keturah Balabyekkubo and
Sydney Jones added 12 points apiece, while
Madyson Jean-Louis, who was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, totaled 11 points on the night.
As a team, the Eagles were 52 percent (26-50) from the field and outrebounded the Mountain Lions 25-18. ERAU won three of the four quarters and held Young Harris scoreless through the first five minutes of the first and fourth quarters in Saturday's win.
The Eagles opened the game on an 8-0 run and at the 3:49 mark, behind six first-quarter points from Teterycz the lead was 10 (12-2). The Mountain Lions were able to cut the lead to six (14-8), but with 29 seconds left, Balabyekkubo hit the only three of the frame, and the Eagles, who were 8-of-12 from the field, led 17-10 going into the second quarter.
Both teams made six field goals in the second period with the Eagles shooting 42.9 percent (6-of-14) and the Mountain Lions shooting 37.5 percent (6-of-16). Young Harris was able to make up the deficit at the free throw line. The visitors were 8-for-8 from the charity stripe while the Eagles did not attempt a single free throw in the period, and at the half the Mountain Lions, who outscored the Eagles 21-12 in the second quarter, led 31-29.
Teterycz opened the third with a trey and that keyed a 9-0 run that allowed the Eagles to overtake the Mountain Lions 38-31. Young Harris made it a four-point game with a three at the 3:12 mark, but layups by Jones and Balabyekkubo helped the Eagles widen the gap again and heading into the final frame, the home team led 53-49.
The only points by either team in the first 4:30 of the fourth quarter came from Balabyekkubo who knocked down a pair of free throws at the 8:40 mark. Three minutes later, Teterycz registered the first field goal of the period to help the Eagles build their lead to 12 (59-47). Dustie Obah tried to ignite the YHC comeback with a pair of threes, but it wasn't enough as the Eagles held on for the win.
Obah was the game's leading scorer with 18 points, while Mackenzie Johnson contributed 12 points and 12 boards to the Mountain Lion effort.
The Eagles return to Sunshine State Conference play following the holidays, taking on Barry at 4 p.m. on Dec. 30.
The 2022-23 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
