Juday Scores Career-High as Tritons Blow Out Texas A&M International

Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd women's basketball team opened the 2016 EC Thanksgiving Classic with a convincing 84-42 win over Texas A&M International University on Friday.

The Tritons (3-2) dominated from start to finish with ten different players putting points on the board. Eckerd started the game on a 9-0 run and led the Dust Devils (0-6) for the remainder of the game. 

EC shook off a slow shooting start, making good on just three of its first 14 attempts, and steadily improved its offensive efficiency as the game progressed to shoot 48.5 percent from the field.

Early on, the Tritons made up for the cold spell by hitting the glass and pulling in eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone.

"I thought we executed well against their zone early but we struggled to hit shots," said Eckerd head coach Paul Honsinger.  "We did bring energy and rebounded well, however, so we were still able to put points on the board."

Despite narrowing the lead to as little as five late in the first period, Texas A&M International struggled against Eckerd's defense.  The Tritons forced the Dust Devils into a total of 30 turnovers, leading to 46 points for EC.

"Our defense was strong and we forced them into turnovers which translated into easy scoring opportunities," Honsinger said.  "We will have to bring that same defensive effort again tomorrow."

The Tritons began to blow the game open in the second quarter after a 21-2 run over a seven-minute span gave Eckerd a 35-8 lead with just under three minutes left in the half.

A 16-2 run to begin the second half continued to add to the lead, which grew to as many as 47 points.

The Tritons posted 46 points off the bench with Mariam Hannoun, Brooke Juday, Sarah Ammons, Armi Anttila and Ashely Fyle earning quality minutes.  Hannoun matched her career high with 14 points, all of which came in the second half.

"It was good to get all 10 players significant minutes," said Honsinger.  "We shared the ball well and everyone had a chance to score."

Kacie Juday netted a career-high 19 points in the win while grabbing six offensive rebounds and three steals in just 18 minutes of action.  Brooke Juday added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting.  Ada Yalcin led the team in steals with four and assists with six. 

The Tritons return to the tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 PM taking on Millersville (Pa.) University on the final day of the holiday classic.