Box Score
SAINT LEO, Fla. – With postseason implications on the line, the Eckerd College basketball program dug deep for 50 minutes to keep their hopes of earning a seed into the Sunshine State Conference Tournament alive with a compelling double-overtime victory over Saint Leo University, 65-61.
With less than three seconds on the clock in regulation, senior guard
Kati Rausberg swished three consecutive free throws to force the extra session while junior forward
Krystal Charles swatted a career-high six shots to complement 24 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals.
“We called a timeout and ran a sideline, pick-and-pop play off a high ball screen,” explained EC Head Coach
Paul Honsinger on the final play that forced overtime. “Krystal (Charles) was the one with the hot hand and we drew it up for her to get the look, but Saint Leo botched its defense and didn't switch well. Kati was swiped on a closeout on the way up for her shot.”
The Tritons (14-10, 7-8 SSC) successfully spoiled the Lions' (7-18, 1-14 SSC) Senior Night and overcame a gradually raucous crowd on “Whiteout Night” in the Bowman Center.
Nova Southeastern University and Lynn University (EC's opponent for Saturday) both came into tonight with a 7-7 league record tied for the fifth and sixth final seeds if postseason were to begin today. NSU and Lynn squared off this evening, and the Tritons owned a tiebreaker over the Sharks by virtue of a regular-season sweep.
But Nova Southeastern beat Lynn tonight and the Tritons find themselves tied with the Fighting Knights at 7-8 in the SSC standings heading into Saturday's regular-season finale. Lynn had the slight upper hand on EC in the prior overtime meeting in Boca Raton.
“I don't think either team necessarily played very cleanly tonight, but we were able to grind it out and get the final slug in,” Honsinger continued. “Both teams were tired towards the end and the legs might not have been there for everybody. The crowd was great late and it was a back-and-forth game.”
Charles rejected a pair of Saint Leo shot attempts in the final 30 seconds of play and she scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half. The London, England native went 6-of-11 from the field and 2-of-4 from behind the arc to help keep the Tritons' rally hopes alive.
Rausberg again was asked to come up big in the final seconds of the second overtime period. She not only scored the go-ahead layup with 44 seconds left, but iced the game from the charity stripe to extend the Tritons; lead to four points.
Eckerd's struggled from long distance in the first half, as Saint Leo held the Tritons to eight percent shooting from three-point range (1-for-13) and 26 percent from the field (8-of-30). The Tritons shot a season-low 14 percent from behind the arc on the night (4-of-29).
“I told our team that we've been in a lot of tight games this year and Saint Leo has not,” Honsinger said. “We have the experience and big-shot shooters with Taylor (Young) and Kati (Rausberg). When you have that, you always have a chance.”
Senior
Linsey Niles had eight rebounds and three assists, while senior
Taylor Young hauled in nine more rebounds on the night.
Eckerd College will play host to Lynn University this Saturday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. in the McArthur Center. The Tritons will honor the seniors Niles, Rausberg and Young, for their contributions to the program. Results will be posted on
eckerdtritons.com.
