BOCA RATON, Fla. – With no time left on the clock, junior guard
Rana Thomas drained a buzzer-beating three-point basket to vault the Eckerd College women's basketball team over Lynn University on the road Saturday afternoon, 54-51.
Thomas snapped a 51-51 tie, the game's fifth stalemate that unfolded with 36 seconds left. She denied the hopes of overtime from the Fighting Knights as junior guard
Kayla Bowlin kept the possibility of a game-winning shot alive by chasing down an offensive rebound.
Freshman guard
Sarah Ammons scored a career-high 13 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double. She sank a trio of three-point field goals and reeled in five offensive boards while junior
Ivana Grbic scored a dozen and sophomore guard
Kaitlin Jackson tallied 10 in a reserve role.
Making her fifth consecutive start as a member of the starting five, Ammons eclipsed double figures for the first time after netting nine in her second game of the year against Palm Beach Atlantic University.
The Tritons (11-15, 4-12 SSC) will head into the Sunshine State Conference Championship with momentum on their side, a showdown against No. 3 seed Nova Southeastern scheduled for next Thursday in Kissimmee's Silver Spurs Arena for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
Despite Eckerd and Lynn owning an identical record in the conference, a tiebreaker favored the Fighting Knights following a series of complicated criteria that came down to how both teams fared against Florida Tech.
The Fighting Knights (11-15, 4-12 SSC) had their Senior Day spoiled despite a game-high 21 points scored by Tylar Tracy.
Eckerd eventually overcame a six-point halftime deficit as Tracy hit a three within the final 10 seconds of the first half.
The Tritons enjoyed their largest lead of the opening period when Jackson nailed a triple of her own a little over 10 minutes into regulation.
Lynn pushed the lead up to nine, its largest of the game, with just over 15 minutes to play, but EC started to close the gap after five straight points by Ammons on a three and a pair of free throws made.
She would score 10 consecutive team points in a remarkable individual streak to help cut the lead down to three and back-to-back layups from Grbic gave the Tritons their first lead since 1:44 before halftime.
Even though a three-point play by Lynn's Zachara Bailey forced the aforementioned 51-51 tie, Thomas drilled the game winner out of a 30-second timeout.
The Tritons and nationally-ranked Sharks will meet for the third time this year on Thursday night. Live stats and video links for the SSC Championship will be available on EckerdTritons.com next week.
Those wishing to attend the games at Silver Spurs Arena can purchase tickets at the box office window. General admission tickets are available for $10 each day. One ticket will give one person admittance to an entire day, but there is a no re-entry policy in place. If spectators leave arena, they must purchase another ticket.
