Tritons Score Season-High in Win over Millersville

Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - With another strong defensive showing for the Tritons and a season-high performance on the offensive end, the Eckerd women's basketball team wrapped up the 2016 EC Thanksgiving Classic with a 92-52 victory over Millersville (Pa.) University.

Eckerd (4-2) jumped out to an early six-point lead and continued to lead the Marauders for the remainder of the game. Despite narrowing the lead to three in the first quarter, Millersville was unable to close the gap any further after a 3-pointer by Ada Yalcin. 

After taking a 21-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Tritons continued to pull away from Millersville (3-4) outscoring the Marauders, 19-5, over the final 5:19 of the first half to take a 20-point lead into the break.  Eckerd forced 11 turnovers and shot 48.5 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes while holding a 22-13 edge in rebounding.

"Like yesterday's game, I thought we played strong defensively," head coach Paul Honsinger said. "We were aggressive on the boards."

In the third quarter, the Tritons went on an 11-0 run led by Kacie Juday and Anna Deegan. Juday tied her career-high of 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds while Deegan scored a career-high 18 points.  Both went 6-of-9 from the floor, helping Eckerd shoot 56.6 percent in the game including 70 percent in the second half.

"Offensively, I thought we executed much better," Honsinger said, "especially in the second half where we were able to extend our lead and stay in command of the game."

Freshman Brooke Juday continued her strong play off the bench, scoring 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and pulling in five rebounds.  Victoria Vine also reached double figures with 15 points and went a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

The Tritons return to conference play Wednesday night at 5:30 PM, taking on the Fighting Knights of Lynn University in the McArthur Center.