Strong Second Half Lifts Tritons to Sixth Straight Win

Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. - The Eckerd women's basketball team has made a habit this season of building big leads early in games but took a different route on Friday on the opening day of the Terrace Hotel Classic at Florida Southern.

This time, the Tritons used a big third-quarter performance to blow the game open and cruise to an 80-41 win over Auburn University Montgomery in the Jenkins Field House for their sixth straight win.

Eckerd (8-2) led for the majority of the game after holding off a quick start by Auburn-Montgomery.  A layup by Kacie Juday gave EC its first lead at 11-9 with 5:10 left in the first quarter, and the Tritons never surrendered it.

However, the Warhawks managed to stay close until Eckerd closed the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 36-25 lead into halftime.

The quick finish to the first half turned out to be a harbinger of what was to come after halftime.

"I thought we started the game a little flat," said EC head coach Paul Honsinger, "but once we picked up our defense and got more aggressive, we were able to take control of the game and stay in control."

Eckerd outscored AUM, 25-9, in the third quarter on the strength of two 9-0 runs, and added to its margin in the fourth quarter.

Defense, as Honsinger noted, was vital to being able to pull away.  The Tritons ended the game with 43 points off of 25 AUM turnovers.  EC also held the Warhawks (1-12) to 31.8 percent shooting for the game and 25.8 percent in the final three quarters.

Meanwhile, Eckerd maintained the offensive efficiency that has been commonplace during its winning streak.  The Tritons shot 52.5 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range while making all six of their free throw attempts.

Anna Deegan had a hot hand early, scoring 11 of her 13 points in the first quarter while knocking down three 3-pointers against the AUM zone.

Kacie Juday took over in the third quarter with 10 of her game-high 18 points coming in the period.  Juday finished one rebound away from a double-double.

Chelsea Johnson made her season debut count, scoring 10 points off the bench, while Ada Yalcin and Mariam Hannoun each added nine.

The Tritons will get the chance to test themselves against one of the nation's top teams tomorrow, taking on No. 25 West Texas A&M at 4:00 PM.  The Buffs defeated No. 16 Florida Southern in overtime earlier in the day.