DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference women's basketball game between Embry-Riddle and Eckerd went down to the wire on Wednesday evening. In the end, the Eagles were able to come away from Eckerd's McArthur Center with a victory, edging the Triton 59-57.
Madyson Jean-Louis led all players with 20 points, including a pair of big free throws at the end of regulation, while
Jenna Teterycz totaled 11 points and six rebounds for the Eagles (14-3, 8-2 SSC) who won their sixth game in a row.
"I'm really proud of our team for getting a tough road win against a good team," ERAU Head Coach
Lisa Wilson said. "We played through some adversity tonight and the whole team stayed locked in and had a 'next play' mentality."
The Eagles scored the first five points of the game, but the Tritons caught up quickly and a first quarter that saw the Eagles go 5-for-15 and the Tritons go 4-13 ended with an 11-9 advantage for Embry-Riddle.
Embry-Riddle was able to regain a five-point (18-13) lead midway through the second period, but a 6-0 spurt allowed the Tritons to close the gap and move ahead 19-18 at the 2:59 mark. That lead was short-lived as
Mary Lengemann fed
Laurie Satchell in the post on the Eagles' next possession to put ERAU ahead by one (20-19). The Eagles led 22-20 late in the quarter, but a layup by Eckerd's Sonja Schuch with eight seconds left tied the game at 22-22 at the half.
A layup by Satchell at the 5:25 mark of the third capped a 10-1 run that put the Eagles up 32-23. The Tritons rallied, however, and put together a 12-3 run of their own, that included 5-of-7 shooting from the free throw line, to tie the score at 35-35. The last 1:04 of the period featured two ties and two lead changes and heading into the fourth, it was the Tritons with the slim one-point (38-37) lead.
The Tritons maintained the lead until Teterycz took over for the Blue and Gold, knocking down a three and a mid-range jumper to put the Eagles back on top 44-41. Embry-Riddle was able to widen the gap to six (50-44), but once again, the Tritons found a way to erase the deficit and with 52 seconds left, the score was tied at 55-55.
Lengemann scored two of her eight points with 22 seconds left, but Lauryn Viera answered from the free throw line and with eight seconds remaining, the score remained knotted at 57-57. Following a timeout to advance the ball, the Eagles got the ball to Jean-Louis who was fouled on her way to the basket with 1.7 seconds remaining. In her first trip to the charity stripe of the game, the junior knocked down both free throws to secure the win for Embry-Riddle.
Bucher finished with 17 points for the Tritons who are now 10-7 overall and 5-5 in the SSC.
"We have a lot to learn from this and the team is committed to continuing to improve with every game and practice," Wilson commented. "We look forward to seeing that in practice this week as we prep for Tampa."
The second half of the SSC schedule begins on Saturday with the Eagles hosting No. 21 Tampa at the ICI Center. Game time for the Coaches vs Cancer game is 4 p.m.
The 2023-24 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
