DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team earned its fourth Sunshine State Conference win of the season in thrilling fashion on Wednesday, holding off Palm Beach Atlantic 69-67 in overtime at the ICI Center. The Eagles are now 10-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play, while the Sailfish move to 8-6 and 2-4 in the league.
The first bucket of the game went to the Sailfish who got a trey from Kash Ayuso to start their scoring. The Sailfish lead was still three (6-3) at the 6:53 mark of the first quarter, but a
Kailey Turpening jumper and a pair of threes from
Madyson Jean-Louis gave the Eagles their first lead of the evening (7-6) at the 5:39 mark. The Sailfish reclaimed the lead briefly, but ERAU ended the quarter on a 9-3 run to lead 16-12 at the end of the quarter.
Midway through the second period, the Sailfish were able to make it a two-point game, but the Eagles wasted no time in widening the gap once again. Over the ensuing five minutes, the home team outscored the visitors 15-2 to open a 15-point lead, thanks in part to a pair of threes by
Kyra Haan who scored 10 points in the first half, and at the intermission the Eagle lead was 33-23.
With eight made field goals and an 11-5 rebounding advantage that yielded seven second-chance points, the Sailfish were able to close the gap again. They outscored the Eagles 22-16 in the third quarter and cut the lead to just two points with 44 seconds left in the frame before a
Chandler Brooks move to the basket gave Embry-Riddle a 49-45 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
At the 6:29 mark of the fourth, Claire Davis, who finished with a game-high 23 points, gave the Sailfish their first lead (51-50) since the first quarter. Over the next five minutes the teams traded baskets and with 1:07 left, Palm Beach Atlantic was still clinging to a one-point lead. On the Eagles' next trip down the court,
Mary Lengemann fired a pass into
Laurie Satchell and the sophomore's only bucket of the quarter put the Eagles up by one (59-58). Jean-Louis made it a 60-58 game after going 1-for-2 from the free throw line with 17 seconds left in regulation. Coming out of a timeout, the Sailfish missed their initial shot but back-to-back offensive boards gave the Sailfish the chance they needed and they tied the score at 60-60 to send the game into overtime.
Bonus basketball featured six ties and four lead changes. Kash Ayuso gave the Sailfish a 67-66 edge with 55 seconds left, but Jean-Louis drew a foul on her way to the basket, sending Mariyah Fletcher, one of PBA's top defenders, to the bench with five fouls. Jean-Louis made both free throws to put the Eagles in front 68-67 with 32 seconds remaining. The Sailfish were unable to connect on either of their last two attempts and Satchell went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe in the Eagles' last possession to help the Blue and Gold secure the win.
Jean-Louis matched Davis' performance with a career-high 23 points. Haan also had a career night in her first start wearing the Blue and Gold, matching her career-best 14 points to go with six boards and four steals. Satchell also had 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Embry-Riddle will be away from the ICI Center for their next game, traveling to Miami Shores to face Barry at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The 2023-24 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
