Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. - Taking on their second nationally-ranked team in four days, the Eckerd women's basketball team once again took their opponent down to the wire but came up a little bit short.
No. 21 Florida Southern made five of its last seven shots from the floor and converted on 9-of-10 free throw attempts in the game's final three minutes to hold on for a 73-65 win over the Tritons on Saturday evening in Lakeland.
Eckerd (7-5, 3-3 SSC) led for the majority of the first three quarters, weathering a 17-2 run by FSC in the second quarter by scoring the final seven points of the half for a 34-33 lead at halftime. The Tritons got more solid play late in the third quarter, capped off by a
Chelsea Johnson 3-pointer that kept their lead at one point entering the final 10 minutes.
But the Mocs (14-1, 5-1 SSC) took the lead for good with 4:41 to play on the third of four consecutive made baskets and extended it to four points (61-57) moments later after a Gianna Vastola 3-pointer. EC was twice able to pull back within two points thanks to lay-ups by
Victoria Vine and
Margaret Sundberg, but another 3-pointer - this one by Flo Word - made it a two-possession game, and it stayed that way for the rest of the night.
The Tritons had a chance to get within two points again in the final minute, but missed a pair of shots from close range and had to foul on the rebound. Shaquita Snow iced it for FSC with two free throws as she made 5-of-6 down the stretch to help the Mocs secure the win.
Though the two narrow losses to top 25 teams are difficult pills to swallow, Eckerd head coach
Paul Honsinger remained proud of the way his team performed against high-level competition.
"I was very pleased with how we competed this week," he said. "This was another tough loss tonight. The game featured 20 lead changes and we came up short. I do believe that if we keep competing as hard as we are, we will find our share of wins."
Eckerd did so this week without the services of the team's leading rebounder,
Kacie Juday, who has been sidelined with an injury.
Turnovers were a bit of a problem for the Tritons, who tied a season-high with 20. The Mocs converted those into 19 points.
Johnson came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points, while Vine added 14 and Sundberg chipped in 10 points and six assists.
Eckerd returns to the floor on Wednesday, January 13, hosting Lynn University at 5:30 PM.
