DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday, falling to North Greenville 74-68 in both teams' final game of the 2023 Bahama House Shootout at the ICI Center. The Eagles are now 5-1 on the year, while the Crusaders improve to 6-1 overall.
After scoring the first four points of the game, the Crusaders went on to open a six-point lead over the Eagles on two separate occasions, but both times, the Eagles were able to answer, and at the 2:37 mark the score was tied at 16-16. The last 2:21 saw the Crusaders outscore the Eagles 8-3 to take a five-point (24-19) lead at the end of the frame.
The Embry-Riddle offense struggled in the second quarter as the Eagles went nearly seven minutes before registering their first point. During that stretch, the Crusaders, who maintained their 60 percent (6-of-10) shooting clip from the first quarter, widened the lead to 16 points (35-19). With 3:16 left in the quarter,
Eva Zaragoza had a toe on the line when knocked down a long-range jumper for the Eagles' first points of the period. Over the next 1:10, the Eagles forced two turnovers and went on an 8-0 run to cut the NGU lead in half (35-27). The Crusaders called a timeout and the pause in play had the desired effect as the visitors scored the last six points of the half to take 41-27 lead into the halftime break.
The Crusaders held on to their 14-point advantage until the 8:47 mark of the third quarter when a
Kailey Turpening three triggered a 10-3 run that cut the Crusader lead to seven (46-39). North Greenville managed to rebuild a double-digit lead, increasing their advantage to as much as 12 points, but once again the Eagles were able to close the gap, making it a six-point (53-47) and at the end of the third the Crusader lead was 56-49.
In the final quarter, the Eagles held a 19-18 scoring edge, but despite trailing by just six points (71-65) with 1:28 remaining, they were unable to get any closer, resulting in the six-point loss.
Keturah Balabyekkubo and
Madyson Jean-Louis each scored 15 points for the Eagles with Balabyekkubo leading all players on the boards with seven rebounds. Turpening was the game's assist leading with six to go with nine points and two steals.
The Eagles will go on the road for their first Sunshine State Conference game of the season on Saturday when they travel to Lakeland to take on Florida Southern. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
The 2023-24 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
