Honsinger Reaches Career Coaching Milestone as Women's Basketball Closes Out Puerto Rico-Bayamon, 65-59

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Junior forward Ivana Grbic recorded a double-double to help the Eckerd College women's basketball program carry head coach Paul Honsinger to his 100th career victory against the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Friday afternoon, 65-59.

The Tritons (5-1, 0-0 SSC) opened up the Eckerd College Thanksgiving Classic by catching fire with a game-opening 13-0 run and warded off a relentless comeback attempt at the end by the pesky, albeit undersized Vaqueras (0-5 overall).

Grbic scored a dozen points and pulled in 15 rebounds to lead three players in double-figures. Senior Amy Buccilla sank three field-goals from long range on her way to 11 points and senior forward Liga Vente added 10.

For Honsinger, who entered his eighth season at the helm with 95 wins in his tenure, the accomplished moment was humbling as he quickly turned his focus to Saturday's opponent, Ohio Dominican University.
 
"It's great to have everyone acknowledge this moment and I truly appreciate all the support over the years," Honsinger said. "We have been shooting the ball very well over our past several games, but today we struggled a bit shooting against their zone."
 
"I was happy with our rebounding effort and our ability to close out the game from the free-throw line," he added.

Junior point guard Kayla Bowlin assisted on four of the first seven field goals made by the Tritons. Vente and Buccilla combined for Eckerd's first 13 points on the board as P.R.-Bayamon misfired on its first eight shots from the field.

Eckerd enjoyed a 17-point cushion following a jumper by freshman Victoria Vine and carried a 10-point edge at the intermission while holding the Vaqueras to 25 percent shooting.

P.R.-Bayamon slashed the lead to single digits off the opening the possession of the second half as Roxairaly Armesto began to heat up.

Armesto scored 21 of her game-high 29 points in the second half to make breathing room slightly unsettling down the stretch for the Tritons.

After an Armesto trey made it a 48-41 EC lead with just over 10 minutes left in regulation, reserve sophomore guards Kaitlin Jackson and Rachel Temple nailed three-pointers of their own on successive offensive sequences for a 13-point lead.

In the final 1:50, the Vaqueras rattled off a 9-2 run to make it a four-point game, but Bowlin drained four consecutive free throws to put the game away.

Bowlin finished with nine points and dished out six assists. The Tritons held a commanding 56-27 edge on the glass against their opponent as they closed out the wire-to-wire victory from the tip-off to the final whistle.

Eckerd will wrap up the Thanksgiving Classic tomorrow afternoon against Ohio Dominican University at 3 p.m. The Panthers were edged out by Florida Southern College earlier today to begin tournament action.