Cold Shooting Stops Tritons at Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. - The Triton defense held Tampa to a season-low 48 points, but the offense struggled to capitalize as the Spartans handed Eckerd its first loss of the season on Wednesday night, 48-44.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Tampa 48, Eckerd 44
Records: Eckerd 2-1 (0-1 SSC); Tampa 3-0 (1-0 SSC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Armi Anttila buried a 3-pointer on Eckerd's first possession, the Tritons missed 10 of their next 11 shots.  The cold spell allowed Tampa to use score 14 unanswered points for a 17-5 lead.  Zoe Richards broke UT's run with a traditional 3-point play in the final minute of the first quarter cutting Eckerd's deficit to 11 points at the end of the period.
• Richards continued to give EC a spark off the bench in the second quarter, scoring seven points as part of a 15-1 run that saw the Tritons claim their first lead on a Richards jumper with 2:57 left in the half.  A Dallas Dickerson steal led to a fast-break layup by Yarden Danan that gave Eckerd a 25-21 lead before Tampa pulled within two at halftime.
• The Tritons held onto the lead for most of the third quarter, though it never grew past four points.  A 3-pointer by Chelsea Johnson at the 3:21 mark gave Eckerd a 32-28 lead, but the Spartans scored the final five points of the quarter and took a 33-32 lead into the final period.
• Cold shooting again reared its head in the waning minutes of the third quarter and continued into the fourth.  The Tritons missed 10 straight attempts over a seven-minute span but played solid enough defense to keep Tampa from pulling away.  A layup by Haeli Howard brought EC within three (38-35) with 5:05 to play, and the Tritons still trailed by the same margin with two minutes left.  Tampa, however, scored on its last four possessions to seal the victory.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• After making 23 3-pointers in their first two games, the Tritons managed to connect on just 5 of 22 attempts tonight. Eckerd particularly struggled in the second half, going 1-for-14 from behind the arc.
• Richards was the only Triton to reach double figures, scoring 11 points.  Nine of those came in the first half.
• Despite struggling with their shooting touch, the Tritons did an outstanding job of taking care of the basketball with only six turnovers.

QUOTABLE
"Our defense was solid tonight and I was happy with how we competed, but we struggled shooting the ball and finding any type of offensive rhythm.  It will be a good game film to watch and learn from.  We are looking forward to our next opportunity on Saturday." - EC head coach Paul Honsinger

UP NEXT
The Tritons return to the McArthur Center on Saturday to host Barry University at 1:00 PM.