Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – On a night where the Eckerd women's basketball team set out to promote the "Play 4 Kay" initiative, the Tritons captured a 60-51 victory over the Embry-Riddle Eagles and swept the season series in the process.
The biggest factor the in the contest came at the free throw line as Eckerd (12-9) hit 17 of its 21 free throws compared to a 4-of-5 performance for the Eagles. That is not to say Eckerd avoided foul trouble, either.
Ashley Folsom, who leads the team in scoring and was coming off a 24 point performance on Saturday at Tampa, committed four fouls in the first half which forced her to sit the entire third quarter.
Head coach
Paul Honsinger turned to freshman
Armi Anttila to fill in for the junior post player. Though her stat line might not show it, Anttila's performance aided the Tritons' strong defensive outing. She also pulled down a career-best five rebounds.
Defense has always been an important facet to EC's season, but it was showcased tonight as the Tritons limited the Eagles (6-15) to a 37.3 percent field goal performance while holding their leading scorer, Sabrina Whiting (15.1 PPG), scoreless.
"Despite a tough shooting night, I was proud of our defensive energy and toughness on the glass," Honsinger said. "We shut down their leading scorer and held their team to just 51 points. That defensive effort is what won us the game."
Folsom scored the first basket of the game in the paint on the Tritons' first possession, and EC never lost that lead. The lead reached as much as 19 points midway through the third quarter as
Anna Deegan hit a 3-pointer off a
Victoria Vine assist.
Embry-Riddle, a provisional member of both NCAA Division II and the Sunshine State Conference, made things interesting by pulling back within five points with under three minutes to play but Eckerd held the Eagles scoreless over the last 2:32 of the game.
Kacie Juday led EC with a double-double as she pulled down 10 rebounds and scored 10 points.
Anna Deegan also added 10 points while
Mariam Hannoun scored a team-high 11 points.
Eckerd returns to action on Saturday, February 13 as it travels to Lynn University to face the Fighting Knights at 2:00 PM in Boca Raton.
