Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd women's basketball team made big plays on both ends of the floor on the way to a 65-61 win over Rollins College on Wednesday night in the McArthur Center.
The win gave Eckerd (11-8, 6-5 SSC) sole possession of fifth place in a tight middle portion of the conference as teams fight for position heading into the post-season.
Head coach
Paul Honsinger was quick to point out the effort his team made tonight in the areas that aren't so glamorous.
Take, for example,
Kacie Juday and her game-high 11 rebounds, all of which came on the defensive end to help neutralize one of the conference's best offensive rebounding teams. Juday's effort helped Eckerd hold a 38-31 advantage on the boards and limit Rollins to just six second-chance points.
"One of the things we really stressed was rebounding," said Honsinger. "That, along with defense, ultimately won us the game. Kacie had a huge game for us on the boards. That was one of our biggest keys to winning tonight."
The Tritons also had some big defensive plays at important moments after a 20-point lead early in the third quarter evaporated into a three-point lead in the fourth.
One of the most pivotal came when
Margaret Sundberg drew a charge with 3:22 left, erasing a basket that would have cut the Eckerd lead to one point.
Anna Deegan and
Chelsea Johnson also took charges at crucial times, exhibiting a toughness that Honsinger likes to see.
"Those types of plays are swing plays. They were a huge lift for us tonight," he said. "I'm happy to see us win in a tough manner and not be afraid to sacrifice our bodies."
On the offensive end, Sundberg also had some big moments on her way to a career-high 22 points, half of which came in the fourth quarter. She finished the night going 5-of-6 from 3-point range.
"Her 3's came at big times," Honsinger said. "Every time they made a push, she would respond. She's a confident player and you want confident players taking shots. It's good to see her as a senior playing her best in February."
As they did in the first meeting of the season, the Tritons jumped on top early and built a 19-point halftime lead behind 50 percent shooting from the floor. The lead reached 20 early in the second half before Eckerd went cold, affording the Tars a chance to climb back into the game.
"We were missing some easy shots but executing pretty well," said Honsinger. "We told the players to stay relaxed and keep executing."
The Tritons executed well enough to stay in position to win, and shot well enough from the free throw line to close out the win by making 9-of-12 in the last 2:30 of play.
In addition to Sundberg's 22, EC got 13 points from
Ashley Folsom and 10 from
Victoria Vine. The Tritons tied a season-high with 11 3-pointers as they shot 52.4 percent from behind the arc and completed the regular-season sweep of the Tars.
Eckerd returns to action on Saturday with a visit to Tampa at 2:00 PM.
