DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Double-Doubles by Keturah Balabyekkubo and Sydney Jones helped the Embry-Riddle women's basketball team to a 75-63 defeat of Florida Tech (3-19, 1-17) in Sunshine State Conference play, Wednesday at the ICI Center. The win avenged a loss to the Panthers earlier this year and improves Embry-Riddle's overall record to 11-12 and their SSC ledger to 6-11.

Balabyekkubo matched her career high with 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to record her third double-double of the year. Jones, who was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, matched her season-best 14 points and equaled Balabyekkubo's efforts on the boards for her first double-double of the season. Madyson Jean-Louis and Jenna Teterycz added 11 points each.

The first five Eagle points of the evening came from Balabyekkubo who knocked down a three and drove to the basket for a layup on her first two attempts. Balabyekkubo's nine first quarter points helped Embry-Riddle open a seven-point (12-5) lead midway through the frame, but the Panthers, who were 8-of-15 from the field, battled back to narrow the gap to two (20-18).

The Panthers made it a one-point (22-21) game on an Emily Acampora jump shot at the 8:03 mark of the second. On the Panthers' next possession, Jones grabbed the defensive board and converted the layup on the other end of the floor to put the Eagles up by three (24-21). Three minutes later, baskets by Jean-Louis, Balabyekkubo and Mary Lengemann had widened that lead to 30-21.

After Eva Zaragoza's layup made the score 36-26 in favor of the Eagles, the Panthers scored seven unanswered to close out the quarter and at the half, the Eagle lead was down to three (36-33).

Twelve turnovers and a 2-of-9 effort from the field resulted in a low-scoring third quarter for Embry-Riddle. The Panthers also struggled in the third, making just three of their 11 field goal attempts and turning the ball over seven times. The teams managed just three points each in the first five minutes of the frame, allowing the Eagles to hold on to their three-point advantage. The Panthers eventually managed to tie the score at 40-40 and a pair of Tai Roberts free throws gave Florida Tech its only lead of the night with 35 seconds left. The Eagles had the last shot of the quarter and Jean-Louis made it count, knocking down her first trey of the night to put ERAU back in front (43-42) heading into the final period.

The Eagles had their most prolific single-quarter performance of the season in the fourth, scoring 32 points in the final 10 minutes of play. Embry-Riddle was 8-of-15 from the field and after shooting just 10 free throws in the first three quarters combined, the Blue and Gold went 13-of-16 from the charity stripe in the final frame.

The game was still close late as the Eagles held just a three-point (59-56) edge with 3:43 left to play. At the 3:19 mark, Jones went to the free throw line and made both attempts to key an Eagle run. ERAU went on to outscore the Panthers 14-0 over the next three minutes to seal the victory.

The Eagles are back on the road on Saturday when they travel to Lakeland for a 5:30 p.m. tip against Florida Southern.

The 2022-23 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.