Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Senior guard
Taylor Young netted 24 points on a blistering 9-of-10 effort from the floor as the Eckerd College women's basketball program was clicking on all cylinders in a rout against Saint Leo University on Wednesday night, 79-56.
Senior
Linsey Niles added 13 points, senior
Kati Rausberg scored all of her 11 in the first half and
Amy Buccilla contributed a dozen in a reserve role.
After sinking a previous season-high 11 three-point field goals against the University of Tampa, the Tritons (10-4, 4-2 SSC) were well on their way to eclipsing that mark with nine treys in the first half alone.
Young connected on four longballs, Rausberg drilled three more while freshman
Taylor Bestry and Buccilla each converted one.
“We passed the ball very well, especially from the high post,” EC assistant coach Sarah Gaffney said. “We also shot with confidence, something that we had talked about all week. Our bench was very strong and gave us productive minutes tonight.”
The Tritons extended Saint Leo's current season slide to 10 straight and the Lions (6-10, 0-6 SSC) remained in search of their first win in league play. SLU began the season with six consecutive victories.
It was bombs away early on as five of the game's first six field goals were from long range.
Eighteen of the Tritons' first 22 points were accounted from beyond the arc as they opened an early double-digit advantage against the Lions while picking apart Saint Leo's zone defense.
Rausberg hit EC's fifth three pointer of the game straight out of a Saint Leo timeout for a 17-10 lead at the 13:12 mark in the first half. Shortly after freshman
Taylor Bestry checked out of the game with an injury, she returned to can another three from the corner upon re-entry.
Young cashed in on another three, the team's eighth, for a 36-20 lead, with just under six minutes until halftime. Buccilla knocked down another trey after relentless activity on the offensive glass by the Tritons to nearly double up the Lions at 39-20.
Eckerd would close the half on a 10-4 run.
Katja Kotnik found a cutting Young underneath the basket for a layup plus the foul shot and a 22-point lead was established. Young returned the favor the next time down the court to Charles in the post and the Tritons commanded a 49-24 lead by the break.
After netting 15 points in the first period alone, Young scored the Tritons' first four points of the second half and exploited Saint Leo for several more easy layups on backdoor cuts. She was just one point shy of equaling her career-high of 25 points against Southern Connecticut State University (Dec. 19).
With a 25-point lead intact, the Tritons continued to force the Lions into hoisting up contested shots, many of which missed the mark. EC tamed Saint Leo's offense to just nine field goals in the first half and limited the Lions to just a shade over 37 percent on the night.
Eckerd beat up the Lions on the boards, holding a 43-28 margin in the rebound department.
Krystal Charles hauled in all of her team-leading eight rebounds in the first half.
“Rebounding was key for us going into this game,” Gaffney said. “We were physical and crashed the offensive boards because they went zone.”
The Tritons begin a two-game road swing this weekend by heading to Miami Shores to take on Barry University this Saturday at 2 p.m.
