Box Score
MELBOURNE, Fla. – Junior forward
Liga Vente scored 16 points and sophomore guard
Taylor Bestry added 12, but a sluggish start had the Eckerd College women's basketball program playing catch-up against Florida Tech in defeat on Saturday afternoon, 62-48.
The Panthers (10-3, 2-1 SSC) ended a string of recent Eckerd dominance in the series history with the Tritons (5-6, 2-2 SSC) emerging as winners of nine of the last 11 meetings prior to today's contest.
Coming into the afternoon, the Tritons were riding momentum after bringing down previously undefeated No. 10 Tampa, while the Panthers were recovering from letting a 20-point lead slip away in overtime against No. 21 Rollins College.
EC was also in a four-way tie for first in the Sunshine State Conference standings with Lynn University, Florida Southern College and Saint Leo University.
Florida Tech began the game on an 18-2 run in the first nine minutes of play as the Tritons struggled out of the gates in the Clemente Center.
Ida Gustaffsson scored nine of her team's first 11 points as part of the quick start, while Eckerd struggled from the field (1-for-9), committed seven turnovers and fell behind in the battle for the boards, in the early stages.
Gustaffsson finished with a double-double, collecting 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kayk Wilson led all scorers with 19.
The Tritons eventually tracked the offense behind a trio of three-point buckets in the first half by Bestry.
Another three by junior forward
Kristiana Stauere cut the deficit to 12 with two minutes before halftime, but Melissa Echols and Peggy Smith each connected from deep for Florida Tech heading into the locker room.
Sophomore guard
Rana Thomas scored five unanswered points as part of a 7-2 run to open the second half as the Tritons pushed the tempo looking to rally. She finished with eight.
But the Panthers restored their double-digit advantage and were up by 15 midway through the final period.
The Tritons were unable to get any closer than 10 points after Bestry's fourth and final three with 1:35 left to play as Florida Tech finished strong to earn the wire-to-wire win.
Freshman guard
Annie Armstrong, coming off a career-high 26 points against Tampa, left the game after crashing to the floor during pursuit of a rebound. Armstrong entered today as the SSC's leader in three-point percentage.
The Tritons remain on the road in the SSC schedule next week, traveling to face Florida Southern on Wednesday in Lakeland. Tip-off in the Jenkins Field House is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
