ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Embry-Riddle Women's Basketball's 2022-23 campaign came to an end in the quarterfinal round of the Sunshine State conference tournament on Tuesday. The seventh-seeded Eagles faced No. 2 seed Eckerd (24-4) on the Tritons' home court and fell to the eighth-ranked team in NCAA II 74-51 to close out the season at 13-14.
In her final game as an Eagle,
Keturah Balabyekkubo led the Eagles with 12 points and six rebounds.
Kailey Turpening added a career-high 10 points and three assists.
A slow start saw the teams combine for just six points in the first five minutes. The offense picked up in the second half of the first quarter with the Tritons going on a 14-7 run to lead the Eagles 18-9 at the end of the first.
The Eagles were better from the field in the second quarter, going 6-of-13 with 11 rebounds compared to 5-of-16 with seven boards for Eckerd. In a 10-minute span that saw the Tritons edge the Eagles 16-13 in scoring, the difference was at the free throw line. The Eagles had no free throws, while the Tritons were 5-for-5 on the way to a 34-22 lead at the half.
The Tritons distanced themselves in the third quarter. Their 76.9 percent (10-of-13) shooting clip from the field included making five of six three-pointers. Conversely, only one of the Eagles' five field goals in the third were from long range and with 10 minutes left play, the Triton lead had swelled to 27 (62-35).
The Blue and Gold won the fourth quarter with a 16-12 edge in the scoring column. But that was not enough to overcome margin built by the Tritons in the third and Eckerd advanced to the tournament semifinals with the win.
The 2022-23 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season was presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
