Box Score Eckerd-Nova Southeastern Box Score
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Eckerd College women's basketball team was forced to turn into something it normally isn't on Saturday. But desperate times led to a desperation win.
Junior Kati Rausberg made a 3-pointer as time expired to hand the Tritons a thrilling 69-67 win at Nova Southeastern.
Rausberg had 12 points to help Eckerd (14-9, 7-6 Sunshine State Conference) rally from a 17-point deficit in the second half.
Senior guard Ashley Lutz scored a game-high 24 points, and led the normally patient, methodical half-court offense into an up-tempo, full-court press attack in the final half.
The Tritons were down 42-27 at halftime and pressed for most of the second half, helping Eckerd outscore NSU (13-9, 5-7) 42-25 in the final 20 minutes. The Tritons forced 12 NSU turnovers in the second half and held them to 27 percent shooting.
The Sharks shot 63 percent in the first half.
“We pretty much rode Ashley for the last 10 minutes of the second half,” said Eckerd head coach Paul Honsinger. “It was just an incredible win. Our bench did a really good job with the press, and our starters came back in and continued it. We got outplayed today, but I'm proud of the way we fought back.”
Stephanie Sarosi had 22 points to pace the Sharks, while Abbie Tepe added 16.
Sarosi's three-point play gave the hosts a 67-66 lead with 12 seconds remaining. Out of timeouts, the Tritons pushed the ball up the court but ran its normal offense before the ball fell into Rausberg's hands with little time remaining.
The school's career leader for 3-pointers made was five feet behind the arc and had the ball leave her hands just before time expired.
“We were really patient in the final seconds,” Honsinger said. “They took us out of the play we wanted, but you couldn't ask for a better shooter to have that shot in that moment.”
Eckerd was trailing 52-35 with 12:25 left and was still down 62-53 with 3:45 remaining.
“We have certainly never pressed that much in a game but we didn't have a choice,” Honsinger said. “It's a big win for this team, and we really needed it.”
The Tritons will return home at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday against Florida Southern at the McArthur Center. Live video is available on EckerdTritons.com.
