ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- The Eckerd women's basketball team capped off an undefeated weekend at the Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic as the defense came up with some clutch stops late in the game for a narrow win over Mount Olive on Saturday afternoon at the McArthur Center.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 69, Mount Olive 65
Records: Eckerd 5-1, Mount Olive 1-5
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Eckerd began the game right where it left off last night with an aggressive offense that sunk five 3-pointers in the first quarter. The Tritons began the game with back-to-back 3's by Ada Yalcin and Chelsea Johnson. Kacie Juday would hit another Eckerd 3-pointer with 3:11 left in the quarter to give Eckerd its largest lead of the game at 23-7. A strong finish by the Trojans cut the lead to 25-15 at the end of the quarter.
- Mount Olive upped the tempo of its offense in the second period and used a 10-0 run to pull within one point at the 1:11 mark. Juday then scored the final three points of the half with a layup and a free throw to give Eckerd a 36-32 lead into the half.
- Yarden Danan opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer before Juday scored on a layup giving Eckerd a seven-point lead at the beginning of the quarter. Mount Olive would remain close, however, as the Trojans pulled within one point on two occasions near the end of the third. Eckerd though would not concede the lead as Johnson scored a layup and Juday added a free throw to end the quarter with Eckerd up 53-48.
- Eckerd would go up by eight points midway through the fourth quarter on a Yalcin layup, but the Trojans climbed within two points just two minutes later on a 3-pointer by Kelly Funderburk. The Tritons forced three missed shots in the last minute of the game and converted just enough at the free throw line to earn a hard-fought victory.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Juday recorded her second double-double of the season as she scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Her 20 points set a new career high, surpassing her previous best of 19.
- Johnson (16), Yalcin (11), and Danan (10) also scored in double-digits for Eckerd. Danan was one rebound short of a double-double.
- Yalcin dished out a season-high six assists in the win, while Johnson recorded a career-high five assists.
- The Tritons shot 46.2 percent from the floor in the game while holding the Trojans to 36.9 percent. Eckerd also shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half.
QUOTABLE
"Overall, I am pleased with the weekend as a whole. We faced two athletic teams and reached the majority of our game goals. We challenged our team to rebound and defend, and I thought we did a great job of it at times. Offensively, we shot the ball well and had a lot of contributors." - EC head coach
Paul Honsinger.
UP NEXT
Eckerd will continue conference play hosting Florida Southern on Wednesday at 5:30 PM. Florida Southern went 2-0 this weekend in the Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic.
