ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Career-high performances by Kailey Turpening and Anye' Staton propelled the Embry-Riddle women's basketball team to an 89-71 defeat of Flagler (1-2), Wednesday at the Flagler Gymnasium.
 
Turpening finished with 16 points while Staton and Sarah Napoli scored 14 points apiece to help the Eagles improve to 3-0 on the season. Turpening led all players with seven assists and tallied three steals. Laurie Satchell led the Eagles on the boards with seven, while Staton and Alyssa Brasko totaled six rebounds each and Napoli grabbed five rebounds of her own.
 
The Eagles played solid, clean defense against the Saints. Embry-Riddle was whistled for just 10 fouls compared to 23 against Flagler. There was a marked difference in trips to the free throw line where the Eagles made 21 of their 31 attempts, while Flagler had just four free throw opportunities in the game.
 
Flagler scored the first points of the game and led 4-2 early in the contest, but Embry-Riddle quickly rallied to take control of the lead. With 6:22 left in the first period, the score was tied at 7-7, but the remainder of an action-packed quarter saw the Eagles shoot 52.6 percent (10-of-19) to outscore the Saints 18-8 to lead 25-15 heading into the second.
 
Key for the Eagles in the second quarter was long-range shooting and defense. The Blue & Gold was 4-of-10 in three-point shooting, while the Saints went 0-for-3 from beyond the arc in the period. The Eagles forced six Flagler turnovers and scored eight points off those miscues on the way to 48-25 cushion at the half.
 
The Saints came out shooting to start the third quarter with a 10-2 run in the first 2:13 of the frame to cut the ERAU lead to 15 (50-35), prompting a timeout by Head Coach Lisa Wilson. The brief pause to help the Eagles regroup had the desired effect as a layup, a free throw and a trey by Turpening keyed a 10-0 Eagle run that helped boost the advantage to 25 points (66-41) and heading into the final frame, the Eagle lead was 69-48.
 
The Saints continued to battle in the fourth, edging the Eagles 23-20 on the scoreboard, however, it was too little too late. The home team reduced the deficit to 16 twice in the final 10 minutes, but Flagler was unable to catch up to the Eagles who recorded their second straight win against the Saints.
 
The Eagles will play their first home game of the season at noon on Saturday when they host Puerto Rico-Mayaguez at the ICI Center.
 
The 2024-25 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.