MELBOURNE, Fla. –
Rachel Murray scored a career-high 25 points, but it wasn't enough to push the Embry-Riddle women's basketball team past Florida Tech (3-10, 1-8) as the Eagles fell to the Panthers 81-68 in Sunshine State Conference play on Wednesday. The loss evened the Eagles' overall record at 7-7 and dropped their league record to 2-6.
Murray closed out the evening shooting 10-of-17 from the field, including a 5-of-9 clip from behind the three-point line, which was also a career high. The Eagles also had double-digit scoring from
Jenna Teterycz and
Madyson Jean-Louis, who finished with 11 points each, as well as
Sydney Jones who chipped in 10 points. Jean-Louis and
Keturah Balabyekkubo each tallied seven rebounds and six assists.
The teams were evenly matched in every offensive category except for free throws. Each team made 27 field goals and hit 10 threes, but Florida Tech had the advantage at the charity stripe, making 17 of 27 free throws compared to a 4-of-8 night for ERAU.
Jones scored the first four points of the game, but the Eagle offense struggled throughout the remainder of the first quarter. Teterycz knocked down a three-pointer that tied the game at 7-7 at the 6:07 mark, but after that, the Eagles endured a four-minute scoring drought that allowed the Panthers to take an eight-point (15-7) lead. The Eagles got baskets from Murray and Jean-Louis late in the period to make it a five-point (17-12) game at the end of the first.
The second period featured a three-point shooting barrage as Embry-Riddle and Florida Tech combined for13 made threes in that quarter alone. Back-to-back threes by
Kailey Turpening and Murray cut the Panther lead to one (19-18), but all of Florida Tech's subsequent made field goals came from beyond the arc, and that shooting performance, combined with another scoring drought for the Eagles, swelled the lead to 30-18. Murray, who was 4-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from long range in the second quarter, knocked down a pair of threes and a jumper to reduce the deficit to six points (34-28). However, the Panthers ended the period on an 11-6 run to take a 45-34 lead into the halftime break.
The Panthers maintained a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter, but a Balabyekkubo three on the Eagles' first possession of the fourth made it a seven-point (64-57) game with a lot of time left to play.
Kelli Thomas converted on a free throw attempt to cut the lead to six (70-64) with 4:36 remaining, but a 7-0 run over the next three minutes regained the double-figure advantage for the Panthers who made their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The Eagles are on the road again on Saturday, traveling to West Palm Beach to take on Palm Beach Atlantic at 2 p.m.
The 2022-23 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
