ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A late run in regulation broke open a two-point game as Valdosta State (Ga.) University was able to hold off the Eckerd College women's basketball program in a closely-contested struggle on Tuesday night in the McArthur Center, 65-58.
With VSU clinging to a 51-49 lead and 3:40 remaining on the clock, the Lady Blazers (4-0, 0-0 GSC) pulled away with a 10-2 stretch, including five points from Amy Duke, who led all scorers with 19 points.
After slugging it out in a double-overtime duel in last year's meeting, the Tritons (4-1, 0-0 SSC) were handed their first loss of the season in a battle of unbeatens.
Eckerd junior guard
Kayla Bowlin answered her career-best scoring effort against Flagler College with a 17-point outing as she finished 5-of-7 from the field and made six more attempts at the free-throw line.
Seniors
Amy Buccilla and
Kristiana Stauere each netted a dozen with memorable stretches on both ends of the floor in the second half. Stauere connected on three baskets from long range, pulled down a team-best six rebounds and swatted a pair of shots.
Eckerd came into tonight's contest as the national leader among all Division II programs in field-goal percentage (over 56 percent) and ranked third overall in three-point field goal percentage (over 42 percent).
The Tritons erased a considerable nine-point deficit in the first half and settled the score by storming back to a halftime stalemate at 19-19. EC would go on to shoot over 58 percent from the field in the second half and they were breathing down their opponent's neck after tying for the seventh time at the 8:17 mark.
Stauere converted a rare four-point play that slashed VSU's lead to two and triggered a game-tying trip to the line by Bowlin with an emphatic block on the defensive end.
Buccilla, averaging 14 points per game, asserted herself down low and absorbed contact for hard-earned trips to the charity stripe. She made seven free throws and sank at least one trey for the fifth consecutive game.
Both teams were saddled with foul trouble and lost key pieces as the second half progressed.
EC senior forward and current Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week
Liga Vente picked up her fifth foul with 6:28 left to play and VSU's leading scorer, April Thomas, was also disqualified with under five minutes to go.
But before Thomas left the game, she nailed a pair of three-point buckets at key junctures, bailing her team out as the shot clock wound down and made another shot from distance that gave Valdosta State a five-point cushion.
Duke led three Lady Blazers in double figures as Thomas ended with 14 and Courtney Sprague added 10 off the bench. VSU held a 31-23 edge on the glass as the Lady Blazers collected 11 offensive boards.
The Tritons will look to regroup at the Eckerd College Thanksgiving Classic on Friday and Saturday with scheduled matchups against the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon (Friday at 3 p.m.) and Ohio Dominican University (Saturday at 3 p.m.).
