Box Score VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Eckerd College women's basketball team saw a late lead slip away as Valdosta State (Ga.) closed the game on a 13-0 run to hand the Tritons a 48-45 loss on the final day of the GSC-SSC Challenge.
The Tritons (1-1) led the for the majority of the game, but went cold down the stretch. Eckerd's last field goal came at the 5:59 mark on a layup by
Kacie Juday, who was fouled and completed the traditional 3-point play to give EC its largest lead of the game at 45-35.
From there, Eckerd missed its next eight shots, giving time for the Blazers (2-0) to eventually tie the game on a 3-pointer by Madi Mitchell with 58 seconds left. VSU took the lead on its next possession after making one-of-two free throws, and the Tritons missed on three chances on the ensuing trip down the floor.
The Blazers' Maggie Davis made both ends of a two-shot foul with five seconds left to force Eckerd into needing a 3-pointer to tie. The Tritons were unable to get a shot off, though, in the final seconds.
The finish negated what had been a well-played game to that point for Eckerd. EC appeared to take control after an 8-0 run that spanned the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth gave the Tritons a nine-point lead with 8:30 left in the game as Eckerd was able to create several high-percentage shots.
The two teams traded free throws for the next two-plus minutes as the lead pushed to 10 for Eckerd, but the Tritons had trouble closing it out. Five of the team's 15 turnovers on the night came in the game's final five minutes.
"We had costly turnovers and didn't execute well late," said EC head coach
Paul Honsinger.
Victoria Vine led Eckerd with 16 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Vine also had eight rebounds as did Juday, with the two combining for nine of Eckerd's 10 offensive rebounds. The Tritons nearly won despite struggling from behind the arc, making just 1-of-16 of their 3-point attempts.
"We played hard today and competed," Honsinger said. "We saw two very different styles this weekend and that was good for our team."
Eckerd returns to the McArthur Center for its home opener on Wednesday, hosting Saint Leo at 5:30 PM.
