LAKELAND, Fla. - The Eckerd College women's basketball program was resilient in crunch time to effectively collect its first win in the Sunshine State Conference schedule against Florida Southern College on Wednesday night, 53-43.
The Tritons (7-4, 1-1 SSC) ended a three-game slide and protected a late lead down the stretch in the Jenkins Field House against the Mocs (4-8, 0-3 SSC), who dropped their sixth straight contest.
Eighth-year head coach
Paul Honsinger collected win No. 102 in his career as the Tritons triumphed for the first time in the 2014 calendar year.
Both teams had a chance to get a preview of each other after participating in the EC Thanksgiving Classic earlier this season. It represented the eighth win in the all-time series that the Tritons earned against the Mocs in a total of 77 meetings.
Junior guard
Kayla Bowlin was pivotal in breaking down full-court pressure as she led the way with 17 points and distributed a career-high eight assists.
"It was really exciting with this being our first conference game on the road," she said afterwards. "We had early foul trouble and we had to have players really step up and hit big shots. It was a really gutsy win for us tonight."
Bowlin shattered her previous personal best of six dimes dropped in separate games this year against Webber International University, Flagler College and the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon. She netted nearly half of her points at the charity stripe with eight makes.
The EC offense converted eight three-point baskets against the Mocs, including two each from senior guard
Amy Buccilla and freshman
Victoria Vine.
Eckerd led by a seven-point margin on several possessions in the second half, including a high-arcing three dropped in by sophomore
Rachel Temple from the wing, and after FSC slashed the lead down to one with 6:12 remaining, the Tritons had an answer for everything thrown at them.
Bowlin drew a foul in the act of shooting a three-point shot, junior
Rana Thomas scored four consecutive points and Vine came through from long distance to restore a seven-point lead with just over two minutes on the clock.
"We kept our composure as a team and we didn't get flustered," Bowlin said. "We had players make plays. It wasn't about looking up at the scoreboard. When we went zone because of foul trouble, I thought we did a terrific job."
Thomas would finish with nine points, Buccilla added eight and Vente crashed the glass for nine boards to go with five points.
Bowlin knocked down a pull-up jumper from the left elbow for a four-point edge and EC worked cautiously on the floor with Buccilla and senior
Liga Vente playing with four fouls late.
The Tritons overcame a 7-0 deficit to start the game and were held off the scoreboard for nearly nine minutes before Buccilla made a layup at the 12:10 mark in regulation for EC's first basket.
But the offense was able find its stride as each team shot around 30 percent in the opening period and the Tritons battled to take a 22-19 lead into the half.
Cashala Thompson had 11 points to lead Florida Southern's offense and Mariah Harris joined her in double figures with 10.
The Tritons have another SSC road challenge in front of them this weekend when they travel to No. 14 Rollins College for a 2 p.m. clash in Winter Park on Saturday. Video will be available streamed on RollinsSports.com for a fee.
EckerdTritons.com will also provide a free audio broadcast between the Tritons and Tars.
"It's another big opportunity for us to go on the road against a nationally ranked opponent on Saturday," Bowlin said. "We're looking forward to playing our brand of basketball and trying to pick up the win."
