VALDOSTA, Ga. – One of the best seasons in Embry-Riddle Women's Basketball history came to an end on Friday as the sixth-seeded Eagles fell to No. 6 seed Tampa 76-70 in the first round of the NCAA II South Region tournament hosted by Valdosta State. The Eagles gave the Spartans all they could handle for 40 minutes, but Tampa (29-6) was able to pull out the win, concluding Embry-Riddle's 2023-24 campaign at 20-10.
The Eagles earned a tournament berth for only the second time in the program's nine-year history and finished with the program's second 20-win campaign.
"I am extremely proud of this team for all they accomplished this season," Head Coach
Lisa Wilson said. "Their commitment to each other and to constantly growing as players and teammates showed all season. We did a lot of things really well today, but definitely had some moments we can learn from. Our seniors have been amazing this year and we will miss them a ton. I know our returners will take this experience and build on it and we will be back here next year!"
Mary Lengemann and
Madyson Jean-Louis posted a pair of 20-point outings for the Blue and Gold. Jean-Louis was rebound shy of a double-double with a game-high 22 points and nine boards, while Lengemann came off the bench for a career-best 20 points and four rebounds.
Baskets by Kath Van Bennekom, Zoe Piller and Mya Giusto helped the Spartans jump out to 10-2 lead to start the game. After grabbing a defensive rebound, Jean-Louis raced to the basket for her second layup of the game and that score keyed an 8-0 run that drew the Eagles level with the Spartans at 10-10. Tampa was able to go back up by six, but Lengemann's 14-point first quarter helped Embry-Riddle pull within three (22-19) at the end of the period.
At the 3:55 mark of the second quarter, the Spartans reclaimed an eight-point advantage (37-29). The next basket by either team came a minute later in the form of a
Sarah Napoli three-pointer and while the Spartans went scoreless in the last three minutes of the frame, the Eagles got jumpers from Jean-Louis and Napoli, and at the half, the Tampa lead had dwindled to one point (37-36).
Jenna Teterycz opened the third quarter with a jumper of her own to give the Eagles their first lead of the afternoon, but the Van Bennekom's three on Tampa's next possession quickly gave the advantage back to the Spartans. The Eagle offense managed just four made field goal and one three, compared to four threes and seven total field goals by the Spartans in the third, but the Eagles were a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, which helped them stay with two points (55-53) heading into the fourth.
An Embry-Riddle scoring slump in the first four minutes of the final quarter allowed the Spartans to increase their lead to 10 points (65-55). At the 3:53 mark, Lengemann knocked down a jumper to end a two-minute scoreless stretch for both teams. On the next Tampa possession, Napoli dispossessed Giusto and that sequence ended in another Lengemann basket. The Spartans' offensive struggles continued and a three by
Kyra Haan and a layup and a free throw by Jean-Louis knotted the score at 65-65 with 2:00 left to play.
On the next Tampa possession, Giusto threw up a shot that dropped in for a three and a quick steal at midcourt led to an uncontested layup that put the Spartans back up by five (70-65). Jean-Louis scored again to make it a three-point (70-67) game with 44 seconds remaining, but that was as close as the Eagles would get as the Spartans went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the last 31 seconds to escape with the win.
Click here for postgame press conference
