Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd College women's basketball program was methodical in executing a well-schemed game plan on Saturday afternoon, defeating North Georgia College & State University to close out the Thanksgiving Classic, 73-45.
The Tritons (3-1, 0-0 SSC) picked up their third straight win in the early going and polished off an unbeaten weekend in the McArthur Center, using a combination of long-range precision and dominant post play to frustrate the Saints (1-3, 0-0 PBC).
Junior forward
Liga Vente scored a game-high 18 points, freshman guard
Annie Armstrong dropped in a dozen and sophomore
Rana Thomas sparked the offense with all nine of her points in a key first-half stretch.
Eckerd connected on eight three-point baskets and sent the fans home happy for the second game in a row with a free, one-topping pizza from Domino's as part of a season promotion.
On defense, Eckerd clamped down to limit the Saints to just under 23 percent shooting, and restricted the effectiveness of reigning Daktonics Division II National Player of the Year Jaymee Carnes.
Guarded primarily by EC senior forward
Krystal Charles, the talented Wake Forest University transfer Carnes was hounded into 4-of-19 shooting as the Tritons swarmed her with constant double teams.
Carnes finished with 15 points and nine rebounds to highlight her team's effort and still holds a current season average of over 21 points per contest.
Armstrong scored seven points alone in a 9-1 EC run midway through the first half to break a 10-10 tie. She nailed a three and made a pair of beautiful backdoor cuts to cash in on separate reverse layups.
Eckerd snapped a 10-10 tie midway through the first half a 9-1 run to earn a little cushion with a 19-11 edge.
The Eckerd lead was pushed to double figures for the first time on a three by sophomore
Taylor Bestry with six minutes before the break.
Bestry finished with eight points and eight rebounds. She also drained a long shot well behind the three-point line with the shot clock expiring.
Thomas scored all nine of her points in just 12 minutes in the first half, going 2-for-2 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Eckerd emerged from its 19-point halftime lead and kept pouring it on, leading by as many as 29 after Vente absorbed contact for a three-point play with 8:54 left in regulation.
Vente's left-handed approach translated into 7-of-13 shooting with four made free throws. EC scored 34 points in the paint compared to 14 by the Saints.
The Tritons will welcome Ave Maria University for a home contest this Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video/audio will be streamed live on EckerdTritons.com.
