DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team completed the season sweep of Lynn on Wednesday, downing the Fighting Knights 68-51 at the ICI Center. The Eagles evened their record at 10-10 overall and they sit in the No. 7 spot in the Sunshine State Conference standings at 8-7.
Shelby Bischoff and
Eva Zaragoza both came off the bench to lead the Eagle offense with 11 points each as all nine players who suited up for ERAU appeared in the scoring column.
Macee Sugrue,
Madyson Jean-Louis and
Nikki Tucker added 10 points apiece, and Tucker led all players with nine rebounds, becoming just the 11
th basketball player, male or female, to reach the 700-rebound threshold.
Rachel Romich and Uloma Enyogasi led Lynn with 13 and 11 points, respectively, as the Fighting Knights move to 7-12 overall and 5-10 in league play.
The Eagles struggled on the offensive end of the floor in the first quarter, managing only 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from the field. However, a stingy defense, that limited the Fighting Knights to just one made field goal in the first 10 minutes, allowed the Blue and Gold to grab a 10-point lead (15-5) heading into the second quarter.
The second period was more closely contested with Lynn taking a 13-12 edge in the scoring. The Eagles led by as many as 15 points, but Lynn went on a 6-0 run in the last 2:53 of the quarter to cut the lead to nine points (27-18) at the half.
The Eagles' scoring woes continued into the third quarter, as they managed just three points in the first 3:27, which allowed Lynn to make it a five-point game (30-25) with 6:33 left in the third. Following turnovers on successive possessions by both teams, Tucker finished a pass from Bischof, and that basket triggered a 13-0 Eagle run, that widened the gap to 18 points (43-25) with 1:55 remaining. The Fighting Knights were able to score on a pair of free throws, but those were negated by Zaragoza's trey that gave ERAU a 46-27 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Fighting Knights were down, but not out, however, as evidenced by their 16-4 run that cut the lead to seven (50-43) with 5:13 left in the game. But that's as close as the visitors would get as the Eagles went 15-for-15 from the free throw line to close out the 17-point victory.
The Eagles are back on the road on Saturday when they travel south for a 2 p.m. tip against Palm Beach Atlantic.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
