ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd women's basketball team handed Florida Southern its first conference loss of the season with a 77-69 win in the McArthur Center on Wednesday night behind
Kacie Juday's double-double and
Zoe Richards' 16 points off the bench.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 77, Florida Southern 69
Records: Eckerd 6-1 (2-1 SSC), Florida Southern 6-2 (2-1 SSC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Eckerd began the first quarter with an early lead thanks to back-to-back 3's from Chelsea Johnson and Yarden Danan. The Mocs, however, quickly regained the lead on an Anja Fuchs-Robetin jumper followed by a 13-4 Moccasins run to gain an 18-12 lead to end the period.
- After two Mocs' free throws to begin the second quarter, Eckerd scored six unanswered points to pull back within two. The Tritons then took the lead at the 4:44 mark on another Danan 3-pointer. The next few minutes went back and forth between the two team before Dallas Dickerson added another Triton 3-pointer with 1:32 left.. Her triple gave Eckerd a six-point lead before a FSC 3-pointer just before the end of the quarter cut EC's lead to three at the half, 34-31.
- Eckerd gradually built upon its lead in the second half. In the third quarter, Juday put Eckerd up by eight at the halfway point of the quarter, and Richards then made it a 10-point lead with two free throws less than a minute later. The Tritons eventually entered the final quarter with a 53-44 lead.
- Eckerd separated itself more from the Mocs in the fourth quarter, having as much as a 17-point lead with 4:37 left following a Richards layup. Florida Southern started to cut into the Triton lead at the end of the quarter, however, making three straight 3-pointers and eventually pulled within six points with 55 seconds left. The Tritons, though, weren't shaken by FSC's pressure defense, controlling the ball and drawing fouls. Juday and Ada Yalcin both converted two free throws each, helping seal the win for Eckerd.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Four Tritons led the offense with double-digits in scoring: Juday (18 points), Richards (16), Danan (10), and Johnson (10). Juday also grabbed 13 rebounds recording her second straight double-double.
- Richards set a career-high with her 16 points while Juday also set a new career-high at the line with 10 free throws made. Yalcin set a new career-high as well with eight rebounds while playing the full 40 minutes.
- Both teams played a physical game resulting in a combined 45 personal fouls in the contest. The Eckerd went 24-for-29 at the line lead by Juday (10-for-13) and Richard (6-for-6).
QUOTABLE
"I was happy with our defense, rebounding and free throw shooting, especially in the second half. Zoe played a great game and gave us a nice lift off the bench to get a comfortable lead. Now we have to build off this win and play well on the road on Saturday." - EC head coach
Paul Honsinger
UP NEXT
Eckerd will continue conference play traveling to Florida Tech on Saturday for a 2:00 PM game.
