ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A nail-biter at the McArthur Center that saw 13 lead changes was finalized by
Kacie Juday, sinking two clutch free throws with 3.3 seconds left in the game to give the Eckerd women's basketball team a 69-67 win over Barry on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 69, Barry 67
Records: Eckerd 3-1 (1-1 SSC), Barry 2-2 (0-1 SSC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Eckerd took an early lead as the game began starting with Chelsea Johnson's opening basket and back-to-back jumpers by Armi Anttila. Barry, however, moved in front off the first of its six 3-pointers in the first half. The two teams stayed within three points of each other for the rest of the quarter as Eckerd trailed 24-22 going into the second period.
- Yarden Danan tied the score at 26-26 after making back-to-back layups to open the second quarter. Kacie Juday later gave Eckerd a six-point lead on a layup with 5:41 left in the half. Barry regained the lead with three minutes left in the half, but Eckerd responded with back-to-back 3's by Haeli Howard and Juday to take a 41-39 lead into the break.
- The Eckerd defense found a way to slow down Barry's offense in the second half, limiting the Bucs to 14 points in each quarter and forcing 15 turnovers. The score still remained close, however, throughout the rest of the game. Eckerd went up by seven late in the period off Anttila's layup with 1:50 left before Barry pulled within two (55-53) to close the period.
- Eckerd took its largest lead of the afternoon on a Danan layup at the 7:23 mark. Barry slowly climbed back and evened the score on its 10th and final 3-pointer of the game with 4:42 remaining. The Bucs went ahead on their next possession and the teams swapped points for the next three minutes. Barry's last lead came with 1:58 to play on a layup by Elin Ekdahl and, after forcing a miss, the Bucs had a chance to add a possession to their lead. Eckerd, however, forced a turnover to get the ball back with 1:06 left.
- Juday grabbed the rebound of her own missed layup and drew a foul, knocking down both free throws to tie the game. Eckerd then forced another turnover and Juday again got to the free throw line with 3.3 seconds left after rebounding her own miss. The senior calmly made both shots to give the Tritons a 69-67 lead. Barry called timeout and inbounded the ball from mid-court, but turned it over for the third time in as many possessions.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Eckerd scored over half of its points in the paint (42), contrary to last week's offensive production that was highlighted behind the 3-point line.
- Anttila netted a career-high 17 points to lead Eckerd's offense and also grabbed seven rebounds. Three other Tritons were in double figures: Kacie Juday (15), Johnson (12), and Danan (10). Juday also grabbed seven rebounds.
- Eckerd forced 25 turnovers while committing only 10. Ada Yalcin had a hand in several of those turnovers, taking away a career-best six steals.
QUOTABLE
"We had a balanced offensive effort and managed to get just enough stops down the stretch to pull out the win against a hot-shooting team today. Kacie showed great poise knocking down her free throws in the last 30 seconds. I'm happy with our effort, but we still have things we need to clean up." - EC head coach
Paul Honsinger
UP NEXT
Eckerd will have the week off before hosting Johnson C. Smith next Friday at the McArthur Center for a 3:00 PM start at the annual Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic.
