Box Score DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Playing in close ball games late in the final quarter is something to which the Eckerd women's basketball has become quite accustomed this season.
The Tritons found themselves in the situation yet again on Wednesday, and perhaps experience made the difference as Eckerd finished the game with 14 unanswered points to pick up a 70-58 win over Embry-Riddle.
The run, which started with 3:03 to play, came after an 11-point fourth-quarter lead vanished.
"[Embry-Riddle] made a big charge back at us, which wasn't surprising. They are a good team," said EC head coach
Paul Honsinger. "I was proud of our girls for hanging in there. We didn't have any breakdowns late. That's a credit to our team to bounce back like that."
The Eagles (5-11) used a 17-4 run in the fourth quarter to turn what appeared to be a comfortable cushion for Eckerd into a 58-56 lead with 3:30 to play as foul trouble opened the door for the hosts to pick up their third straight win.
But Eckerd didn't seem interested in repeating the closing moments of Saturday's loss to Barry, and instead locked down on the defensive end. Laniere Coleman's layup to end the run was the game's last basket for ERAU, which saw its final seven possessions result in four missed shots and three turnovers.
"We did a really good job defensively," Honsinger said, "and didn't let their shooters get loose."
Eckerd, on the other hand, scored on each of its final six possessions, mostly from the free throw line although the Tritons got a big 3-pointer from
Victoria Vine that helped swing momentum.
Getting to the free throw line also made a big difference as EC went 22-of-26 for the game and 7-of-7 in the final three minutes.
"Free throws were huge for us in the second half," said Honsinger. "Some of it was on designed action and some of it was off of hustle plays. We did a great job of going after and getting the 50-50 balls."
While leading scorers Vine and
Ashley Folsom struggled in the first half, combining for one point, the Tritons got a lift from
Margaret Sundberg and
Chelsea Johnson. Sundberg scored 11 of her team-high 15 points in the first half while Johnson added 10 points off the bench before finishing with 14 for the game.
"Maggie and Chelsea came up huge for us tonight," Honsinger said. "Those two carried us through the first half. It was good to have them pick us up when we needed it."
Vine got into the act in the second half, scoring 13 points - including nine in the fourth quarter - to join Johnson with 14 points for the night.
The Tritons took the lead early in the second quarter and held onto it until Embry-Riddle's run put the Eagles ahead with under four minutes to play.
Eckerd returns to the floor on Saturday, hosting Palm Beach Atlantic in the McArthur Center at 2:00 PM. EC won the first matchup this season against the Sailfish in overtime, 64-56.
