Game-Tying Attempt Misses Mark in Eckerd Comeback at Embry-Riddle

Box Score DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A furious comeback attempt came up one possession short on Saturday, as the Eckerd women's basketball team's last-second game-tying shot was off the mark in a 66-64 loss at Embry-Riddle.

A rough performance in the third quarter created a 15-point deficit for the Tritons entering the final 10 minutes, and Embry-Riddle still held that margin with 8:20 to play.

That's when the trio of Ashley Folsom, Victoria Vine and Kacie Juday took over for Eckerd, leading a 19-5 run that brought the Tritons within a point after two Juday free throws with 1:21 left in the game.  The three combined to score all of EC's 27 points in the final quarter.

Embry-Riddle (4-0) preserved its lead at the free throw line by making seven of its last nine attempts, although both misses left the door open for EC.

After Sigrid Sandstrom made 1-of-2 from the line with 21 seconds left, Vine's layup brought Eckerd back within a point.  EC fouled immediately on the inbounds pass and when Lauren Ellenberg missed her first attempt, it meant the Tritons would have a chance to tie or win on the final possession.

"We took advantage of some favorable one-on-one matchups," said Eckerd head coach Paul Honsinger, "and generated a lot of turnovers off of our press."

Devoid of timeouts, the Tritons put the ball in the hands of Vine who drove the length of the floor and took a baseline jumper to tie but pushed it wide as time expired.

Although the Eagles struggled with turnovers, coughing the ball up 25 times, they made up for it with efficient shooting making 53.1 percent from the field.  The third quarter saw their strongest performance, making 10-of-12 attempts - including nine in a row - and turned a one-point lead early in the quarter into a 52-37 lead by the end of the quarter.

"As a team, we were out of sync tonight," Honsinger said.  "We had 14 turnovers in the first half alone and we really struggled to defend the interior."

Still, Eckerd (2-2) managed to swing the momentum in the final 10 minutes and give itself a chance to win.

ERAU led by as many as seven in the first quarter, but Eckerd chipped away at the lead and tied it at 25-25 on a Folsom jumper with 1:10 to go in the first half.  The Eagles, though, scored the final four points of the half and led for the remainder of the game.

Vine led all scorers with 25 points, also grabbing six rebounds and four steals.  Folsom netted 22 points and seven rebounds while Juday had 12 points and seven boards.

The Tritons return to the floor next weekend at the annual Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic, hosting Texas A&M International on Friday at 3:00 PM.