Box Score SAINT LEO, Fla. - After a series of games that came down to the final minutes, it was good for the Eckerd women's basketball team to enjoy a large lead in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night.
The Tritons outscored Saint Leo, 18-6, in the third quarter to more than double their halftime lead and cruised from there to a 63-48 win over the Lions to kick off the second half of the Sunshine State Conference schedule.
"It was good for our team," said EC head coach
Paul Honsinger. "We were able to play a little more relaxed and rotate more players in. It was refreshing to be in command down the stretch."
Eckerd (10-7, 5-4 SSC) used two key stretches to build the cushion, closing the first half on a 12-4 run before scoring nine unanswered points to open the second half. By the
Anna Deegan's layup capped off the third-quarter run, the Tritons had turned a narrow two-point lead into a comfortable 19-point advantage.
Defense played a huge factor as EC held Saint Leo to just 32.1 percent shooting and forced 21 turnovers that were converted into 19 points. The Tritons forced four turnovers alone during the third-quarter run that put them firmly in control.
"Our defense was really good tonight," Honsinger said. "We were able to create some run-outs and easy lay ups off our defense. That was the difference at the end of the second quarter."
Offensively, Eckerd did a good portion of its damage close to the basket with 34 points in the paint as the team shot nearly 50 percent inside the arc.
Kacie Juday netted a career-high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting while
Margaret Sundberg continued her solid play with 14 points on the strength of a trio of 3-pointers to go along with five steals.
The win also gave Eckerd a season sweep of Saint Leo after also downing the Lions in November in St. Petersburg.
The Tritons return to the floor on Saturday visiting Florida Tech for a 2:00 PM tip-off. The Panthers won the first meeting between the teams this season in St. Petersburg, 69-49.
