Tritons Dominate Tars for Third Straight Conference Victory

WINTER PARK, Fla. - The Eckerd women's basketball team has defeated its opponents by at least 29 points in its last three games. Today was no different.

The Tritons picked up their third conference win of the early season with a 77-48 victory over Rollins College (5-3, 1-2 SSC) Saturday afternoon. A combination of offensive precision and a strong defensive showing lifted Eckerd past the Tars. 

"Today we had a balanced attack offensively and another strong defensive effort as a team," EC head coach Paul Honsinger said. "Our defensive intensity held a conference opponent under 50 points and we picked up 26 points off turnovers. I thought we looked good on both sides of the court."

Following a 72-67 win over Florida Tech, the Tars looked to the team's top scorer, Marie Gilbert, to lead the way against the Tritons. Eckerd's impenetrable defensive had other plans, holding Gilbert to just five points and lowering her 13.9 scoring average to 12.8.

Eckerd (6-2, 3-0 SSC) led the Tars 40-18 at half and a dominant second half propelled the Tritons forward, earning them a first-place position in the Sunshine State Conference along with Florida Southern as the only two teams remaining without a conference loss.

The second quarter was the difference as EC rattled off 14 unanswered points and outscored the Tars, 24-8, to build the sizable halftime lead.  Rollins managed to close the gap to 15 points in the third quarter, but another fast start in the fourth dashed any hopes of a comeback by the hosts.  The Tritons opened the final frame with a 13-0 run, pushing their lead to 32 points.

Eight Tritons contributed to scoring in the win with Anna Deegan, Ashley Folsom, Kacie Juday and Ada Yalcin reaching double figures. Yalcin led the way in the first half with 12 points and finished the game with a season-high of 14 points. Deegan also posted 14 points including the first seven points of the fourth quarter.

Folsom was unstoppable in the paint for the Tritons with her signature ball fake under the basket, shooting going 6-of-9 from the floor and totaling 14 points. Kacie Juday led all scorers with 15 points while going 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

Eckerd continues to lead the conference in scoring, averaging 74.3 points per game, and in scoring margin at 20.3. The Tritons also lead the SSC in steals averaging 12.4 per contest after adding 12 more in today's contest.

The Tritons return to action a week from Saturday as they take on conference opponent Saint Leo University in the McArthur Center at 2:00 PM.