ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Senior forward
Liga Vente scored a career-high 31 points to lead four players in double figures and the Eckerd College women's basketball program outgunned Flagler College in its home opener on Saturday afternoon at the McArthur Center, 95-84.
Junior guard
Kayla Bowlin set a new career-high with 20 points, junior
Ivana Grbic was consistently assertive on the drive to contribute a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while senior
Amy Buccilla matched her season average with a 14-point effort.
Vente was 14-of-20 from the field and also hauled in nine boards, Grbic made eight of her 10 shots while issuing six assists and Bowlin was a perfect 5-for-5 as the offense erupted for its highest single-game scoring total since 98 points were posted against Saint Leo University in 2008.
In a similar tone, Eckerd Head Coach
Paul Honsinger moved to just one win away from the career milestone of the 100-win plateau, earning victory No. 99 early in his eighth season at the helm.
"I was proud of our team's effort, especially after falling behind," he said. "We really executed in the second half and focused on getting the ball to Liga (Vente), who had the hot hand. We were very unselfish with the ball and moved it well which showed with 22 assists."
The Tritons (4-0, 0-0 SSC) shot over a blistering 73 percent from the field in the second half alone (66 percent for the game), sinking 22-of-30 field-goal attempts to help erase an 11-point first-half deficit against the Saints (1-2, 0-0 PBC).
The Tritons engaged in an entertaining track meet against a Flagler team that was averaging over 91 points coming into today's game and managed to outscore the Saints by an 18-point margin in the second half after trailing by seven at the break.
Eckerd engineered a 10-2 run shortly into the second half in a three-minute span to slice a nine-point deficit down to one and took its first lead since the 10-minute mark in the first half as Bowlin knocked down a trey from the wing.
Flagler guard Williesha "Shorty" Spencer, averaging 30.5 points per game entering the afternoon, was saddled with early foul trouble but managed to score 22 of her team-leading 25 points in the second half.
Spencer tied the game on three different possessions, the last a 69-69 stalemate with 6:24 left to play, on pull-up jumpers. But EC responded with a 10-1 run, punctuated with a three-point play as Buccilla muscled up a shot in the post for the and-one opportunity.
The Tritons were in control from that point on, opening up a double-digit lead going up by 12 following a driving layup by Grbic.
Vente's dominant activities in the post featured plenty of cutting action and touch from all around the paint area as she flourished as the hub of the Eckerd offense. Her single-game outburst turned out to be the most points recorded by one player in the program since Gabby Gattuso netted 31 in the 2006-07 campaign, ironically, also against Flagler.
Flagler starting forward Shelbi Lindsey left the game just 30 seconds off the opening whistle after falling hard to the floor while pursuing an offensive rebound. Her early departure was supplemented by University of Florida transfer Latesha Johnson, who carried the scoring slack and accounted for all of her 14 points in the first half.
Bowlin put the game away late with several trips to the free-throw line. She dished out six assists and pulled in four rebounds and recorded a pair of steals.
The Tritons return back to the McArthur Center on Tuesday evening to open up a hoops doubleheader against Valdosta State (Ga.) University with a 5:30 p.m. scheduled tip-off. The Eckerd men will follow with a 7:30 p.m. start time slated against Franklin (Ind.) College soon after the conclusion.
