TAMPA, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team proved a fierce foe for 15th-ranked Tampa, but the Spartans (13-3, 4-1) were able to pull away late in the game to top the Eagles (8-3, 2-2) 70-57 in Sunshine State Conference play on Wednesday.
The Embry-Riddle effort featured a balanced offense as all 10 players that took the court appeared in the scoring column.
Madyson Jean-Louis and
Eva Zaragoza paced the Eagles with 11 points apiece with Jean-Louis pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.
Jenna Teterycz chipped in 10 points three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The first four minutes of the game featured two ties and three lead changes on the way to a 10-7 Tampa a lead at the first-quarter media timeout at the 4:29 mark. Coming out of the timeout,
Mary Lengemann tied things up again with a layup and an and-one, but the Spartans went on an 11-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 21-13 lead into the second frame.
Undaunted, the Eagles came storming back in the second quarter. Shooting 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from the field, 50 percent (2-of-4) from long range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, the Blue and Gold used a 13-1 run to overtake the home team 26-24 at the 3:36 mark. The Spartans managed to bounce back from the scoring drought and built a six-point lead late in the half, but Teterycz's second three of the night reduced the Eagle deficit to three (34-31) at the halftime break.
The shooting cooled for both sides in the third quarter with the Eagles connecting on just 36.8 percent of the shots from the field and the Spartans shooting 35 percent. Tampa had a slim 14-13 edge in scoring over the Eagles and opened a five-point gap, but a Zargoza three in the closing seconds cut the lead to two (47-45) heading into the fourth quarter.
Tampa opened the fourth with a three, but layups by Teterycz and Jean-Louis, a three by
Sarah Napoli and a jumper from Zaragoza put the Eagles back on top by one point (54-53) with 5:59 left to play. However, those points represented four of the Eagles' five made shots in the quarter as they were just 31.3 percent from the field. Conversely, the Spartans were 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the field, including four made threes, and while the Eagles did not have a single free throw, the Spartans made good on five of their eight trips to the charity stripe and finished with a 17-3 run to secure the win.
The Eagles look to bounce back at the ICI Center on Saturday, hosting Lynn at 4 p.m. on Community Hero Night.
The 2023-24 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.
