Box Score KISSIMMEE Fla. – The Eckerd College women's basketball team and Barry University went into overtime in their semifinal matchup at the SSC Tournament on Saturday with the Buccaneers pulling out the 61-59 victory.
BU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead to start the contest. A bucket by
Trine Kasemagi and a coast to coast steal and layup for
Ivana Grbic created the first tie of the ball game. Over the next four minutes Barry began to take control of the game grabbing a 14-7 lead.
The EC offense started to wake up when
Kayla Bowlin was fouled dropping in a two point lay in. Bowlin knocked in her foul shot and the three point play started a big momentum shift within the game. A three from
Rana Thomas along with clean shots from
Sarah Ammons,
Jordyn Alexander and Grbic had Eckerd on a 16-0 run.
The offensive scoring spree had the Tritons out in front 23-14 with less than seven minutes left in the first half. Defense was on point holding the Buccaneers scoreless for over seven and a half minutes.
Up by 10 with under five on the clock, the Bucs were not going anywhere and the second flood of points ensued. This time it was Barry who held EC scoreless for over four minutes climbing back within two as the buzzer went off signaling the end of the half. The Tritons went to the locker room holding a 26-24 lead.
The second half quickly turned the game into an instant classic. The final 20 minutes saw eight lead changes with the teams continuously going back and forth. EC trailed by one with 2:45 remaining in regulation when
Victoria Vine hit a go ahead three pointer that erupted the Triton bench. Barry was able to tie it up before both teams again exchanged buckets sending the contest in overtime tied at 55-55.
Eckerd won the tip but could not capitalize on the opening possession in OT. The Bucs went up by two, but Alexander answered right back to keep the game knotted at 57-57. Barry added a layup to go up with just under three minutes on the clock. The Triton offense missed shots on back to back possessions before Grbic put the ball in off the glass tying it up once again, 59-59.
The Buccaneers came out of a timeout with 8.4 ticks remaining and with under one second to play, Barry's Ashley Lutz banked in the final two points of the game to put her team up for good, 61-59.
"First thing, I thought it was a great game," said Head Coach,
Paul Honsinger. "The entire second half and overtime was back and forth. I'm really proud of my team and the effort they put forth on the court tonight."
Alexander led EC in scoring coming off the bench for 17 points. Grbic ended the night with a double-double totaling 13 points and 11 rebounds.
"Both teams competed really hard and we never gave up through the course of the game," said Grbic. "We missed a couple shots we normally make and it just didn't go our way. We are still the same team that went on an eight game winning streak and we can bounce back and be successful."
Honsinger added, "The exciting news for us is we are in a great position right now. We are looking at the national stage for the first time and I can only applaud our team for the position we put ourselves in."
Eckerd (23-7) will have to wait until Sunday to find out about the rest of their season. The NCAA Selection Show will air on Sunday night at 10 p.m. EST on NCAA.com. You can watch by clicking this link for the
Selection Show.
