TAMPA, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team suffered its second Sunshine State Conference loss of the season, falling to No. 12/11 Tampa on the road on Saturday. The loss puts the Eagles at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in league play, while the defending SSC champions remain undefeated at 8-0 overall and 3-0 in the SSC.
The Eagles played the Spartans tough early in the contest, going up 9-4 in the first quarter. The Spartans rallied, however, and at the end of the first 10 minutes of action, the score was tied at 11-11.
The second frame is where the Spartans took control of the game. The score was still tied (15-15) three minutes into the quarter, but Tampa, behind 10-of-20 shooting from the field and eight second-chance points, went on a 17-2 run to take a 35-22 lead at the half.
The third quarter was very similar to the second. The Eagles converted on just five of their 19 field goal attempts, while the Spartans shot 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line to increase their lead to 57-33 heading into the final stanza.
The Eagles were able to turn things around in the fourth quarter, getting a spark from
Mary Lengemann who came off the bench to score all of her career-best eight points in the final period. Within the first three minutes, Lengemann knocked down two threes and hauled in two offensive rebounds to spark an 11-3 run that cut the Spartan lead to 14 (60-46). Tampa widened the gap to 17 (65-48), but the Eagles rallied again, scoring six unanswered points to make it a 10-point (60-50) with 3:08 left to play.
From that point on, however, the Eagle offense went cold. Only five points were scored in the last three minutes of the contest, and all five came from Tampa who improved wrapped up its third conference win of the season.
Sydney Jones and
Madyson Jean-Louis totaled 12 points each and grabbed six and five rebounds, respectively for the Blue & Gold.
Rachel Murray match Lengemann's eight points, while
Jenna Teterycz led the Eagles with three assists.
Tampa had three players score in double digits led by Sydney Kin's game-high 18 points.
The Eagles are back at the ICI Center at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday when they will host Lynn in another SSC match-up.
The 2022-23 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
