Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. - After a setting a program record with 11 straight wins, the No. 12/22 Eckerd women's basketball team fell short Saturday night against Florida Southern College.
An extended second-quarter run by the Moccasins (12-4, 8-1 SSC) was pivotal as FSC took over first place in the Sunshine State Conference standings with a 74-61 win at the Jenkins Field House.
"I thought Florida Southern played terrific tonight and certainly shot the ball great," said EC head coach Paul Honsinger. "Our team competed but we weren't on all cylinders. We executed pretty well offensively but didn't finish as well as we typically do at the rim."
The nationally-ranked Tritons (13-3, 7-1 SSC) jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, holding the Moccasins to just one point in the first four minutes. After a series of fouls committed by the Tritons, however, Florida Southern narrowed the lead on its free throw attempts. The Moccasins battled back from an early six-point deficit to finish the first quarter leading 16-13.
Eckerd soon regained the lead early in the second quarter but the Mocs pulled away after a 16-0 run. Chelsea Johnson ended the Florida Southern run with a 3-pointer just before the half, leaving the Tritons trailing at the break, 36-24.
Foul trouble plagued Eckerd throughout the game as Kacie Juday, Ashley Folsom and Armi Anttila all picked up three fouls in the first half. That foul trouble led to a large advantage for Florida Southern at the free throw line, taking 32 attempts in the game compared to 14 for Eckerd including an 18-0 differential in attempts in the first half alone.
The Tritons managed to pull back within seven points in the third quarter and entered the fourth trailing by only eight points with possession to open the period. However, an Eckerd turnover led to a 3-pointer by Camille Giardina that started a quick 7-0 run to extend the home team's lead to a margin that EC could not overcome.
Victoria Vine, despite the loss, had another big game for Eckerd with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Ada Yalcin added 17.
In addition to the disparity at the free throw line, Florida Southern made the most of its attempts from the floor shooting a blistering 61.8 percent for the game while going 6-of-8 from behind the arc.
The Tritons look to regain momentum with another tough conference matchup in Nova Southeastern on Wednesday night in the McArthur Center.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how we bounce back," Honsinger said. "I think we will be ready."
