ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd College women's basketball program exploited various holes in its opponent's defense to the tune of 10 three-point field goals and finished strong down the stretch to handle Florida Tech in the McArthur Center on Saturday afternoon, 70-64.
The Tritons (10-14, 3-11 SSC) shined with just two more games left in the regular season and attacked a zone presented by the Panthers (15-11, 6-8 SSC) with precision by nearly shooting 45 percent from the field.
Inserted back into the starting lineup, junior
Ivana Grbic responded in a big way with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting and five rebounds before fouling out. She drew immediate praise from Eckerd head coach
Paul Honsinger for her play on both ends of the court.
"Ivana did a great job offensively and defensively," Honsinger said. "She showed toughness defensively and in rebounding. I thought her offense -- scoring and passing -- with her decision making really sparked us in the first half."
The Tritons were playing in front of an energized crowd that featured spectators from both Eckerd's Family Weekend and a special day dedicated to kids (3rd-8th grade) from St. Paul's Catholic School in St. Petersburg.
Members of Eckerd's team visited St. Paul's Catholic School on Thursday afternoon to participate in a 'spirit day,' entertaining a group of 300 students in the gym with various activities.
"I think there was an atmosphere in our gym today and that makes an impact on the players," Honsinger said.
The Tritons continued to play without leading scorer and rebounder,
Liga Vente, and collected their third win in the Sunshine State Conference schedule after sweeping Florida Southern College this season.
With seven dressed players, the Tritons posed a different kind of a problem to the Panthers with an undersized lineup as Florida Tech switched over to a zone.
Initially, made field goals were tough to come by, but the Tritons started to heat up resulting from heady play driving the gaps and making the extra pass on kick outs, especially from beyond the arc.
Junior guard
Kayla Bowlin was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line and netted a team-high 17 points.
Amy Buccilla, preparing for Senior Night next Wednesday along with Vente, netted a trio of three-point buckets along with freshman
Victoria Vine. Buccilla tallied double-digit scoring with 13 points.
"I'm really happy for our team to win because we've struggled to finish down the stretch," Honsinger said. "It became another tight game. I thought we played well enough to win and we did."
Buccilla snapped a 50-50 tie with 7:48 left to play with a three and sophomore
Kaitlin Jackson replicated the same shot about a minute later to cap an 8-0 Eckerd run in less than a two-minute span. Eckerd led by as many as 17 and enjoyed a 12-point cushion at the half.
The final 20 seconds was adventurous as Bowlin calmly sank six total free throws to seal the final decision.
The Tritons will honor Buccilla and Vente on Senior Night next Wednesday against Saint Leo University to close out the home schedule. The game is projected to get underway at 5:30 p.m. with ceremonies preceding the scheduled tip-off.
