DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team won a tough battle between two Top-25 NCAA II programs in Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday at the ICI Center. The Eagles' first game at home in nearly a month saw the Blue and Gold top Tampa 64-63 to give the Eagles their first win against the Spartans since 2018. 
 
RECORDS:
Embry-Riddle: 12-1, 7-0 SSC
Tampa: 13-4, 5-2 SSC
 
GAME NOTES
• The Eagles are ranked 16th in the latest WBCA Coaches' Poll and seventh in the most recent D2 CSC Media Poll.
• Tampa is also a Top-25 team with a No. 25 ranking in the WBCA poll and No. 19 ranking in the D2 CSC poll
• The Eagles' last win against Tampa came on Dec. 28, 2019.
• Embry-Riddle overcame a slow start to end the game shooting 54.8 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from beyond the arc.
• Saturday's win was the Eagles' second against a ranked opponent this year. 

KEY PERFORMERS
Embry-Riddle
• Madyson Jean-Louis: 19 pts, 4 ast, 4 stl
• Anye' Staton: 11 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl

Tampa
• Sariana Rodriguez: 19 pts, 6 reb
• Zoe Piller: 18 pts, 6 reb.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
• The Eagles got off to a slow start in the first quarter coming up empty of four of their first five possessions.
• The Spartans hit three three-pointers in their first four shots of the game to open an 11-2 lead.
• The Eagles overcame the early shooting slump to shoot 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from the field in the first period.
• Mary Lengemann paced the Eagles with six points.
 
Second Quarter
• The Eagles, thanks in part to stifling defense, opened the second frame on a 7-0 run to go up 21-19.
• The Spartans responded with a 9-0 run of their own to reclaim a seven-point (28-21) advantage with 5:51 left in the half.
• The lead was still seven points with 2:30 remaining in the period.
• Chandler Brooks and Sarah Napoli hit back-to-back threes to cut the lead to one (34-33).
• With 22 seconds left, Staton was fouled in the act of shooting and converted on both free throws to put the Eagles in front 35-34.
• Tampa had 22 seconds to change the score but threw the ball out of bounds sending the Eagles into the halftime break with the one-point lead.
 
Third Quarter
• The Eagles carried their second-quarter momentum into the start of the third, outscoring Tampa 7-0 to increase the lead to 42-34.
• The Spartans put together and 11-2 run of their own to go back in front by one (45-44).
• The Eagles regained the lead on their next trip down the court thanks to a Jean-Louis three-pointer.
• The Eagles were 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the field and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, and scored nine points off six Spartan turnovers to take a five-point (52-47) lead into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter
• The final 10 minutes of play saw the lead change hands six times.
• The Spartans quickly closed the gap to start the fourth period and a Rodriguez layup tied the game at 52-52 at the 8:46 mark.
• Tampa had a sizeable advantage in field goal attempts, taking 14 shots compared to just six by the Eagles.
• After another Rodriguez trey that gave the visitors a 55-53 lead, Jenna Teterycz connected on her only three-point attempt of the night to put the Eagles back up by two (57-55) with 5:06 left to play.
• Staton hit a layup and later made on of two free throws to give the Eagles a three-point (60-57) lead with 1:48 remaining.
• The Spartans scored four unanswered to go back up by one (61-60) with 56 seconds left.
• Teterycz fed Jean-Louis for a layup, but the Spartans answered with a layup of their own to lead 63-62 with 21 seconds left.
• The Eagles advanced the ball out of a timeout and Jean-Louis found Staton in the post and the sophomore scored with three seconds on the clock.
• Tampa had the opportunity to advance the ball, but registered a turnover coming out of a timeout to give the Eagles the win.

NEXT UP
The Eagles' next game will be on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. when they host Palm Beach Atlantic.
 
The 2024-25 Embry-Riddle women's basketball season is presented by Daytona Mitsubishi.