No. 14 Tritons Shoot Past Palm Beach Atlantic, 86-58

Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Two traits have strongly contributed to the success of the Eckerd women's basketball team this season.

One of those traits is defense.  The other is the ability to score in a variety of ways.

Both were on display on Saturday as the No. 14/21 Tritons raced to an 86-58 win over Palm Beach Atlantic at the McArthur Center.

Eckerd (21-4, 14-2 SSC) knocked down 14 3-pointers while holding the Sailfish under 35 percent shooting and forcing 22 turnovers.

"Our bench gave us a nice lift today," said Eckerd head coach Paul Honsinger.  "We moved the ball for good shots and got hot in the second half.  When you hold a team to 22 points in a half, you have a great chance of winning.  I thought our defense was strong from the start."

After PBA's Ayanna Holmes made a layup on the game's first possession, the Tritons went on an 11-0 run to take a lead they would hold for the rest of the game.  The Sailfish managed to stay close during the first quarter, but EC upped its defensive presence in the second quarter holding PBA to nine points and opening a 39-22 lead at halftime.

The Sailfish (8-16, 4-13 SSC) scored the first five points of the second half and got back within 11 points before the Tritons put the game out of reach.  Anna Deegan and Victoria Vine combined to make three straight 3-pointers as part of a 15-4 run that put EC ahead by 22 with 3:47 left in the third quarter.

Eckerd then pushed its lead to as many as 31 points in the fourth quarter as shots from behind the arc continued to fall.  The 14 3-pointers made are the team's most since making 14 against Nova Southeastern on January 15, 2011.

The win keeps the Tritons a game ahead of Florida Southern in the SSC standings with two games remaining.

Anna Deegan and Sarah Ammons both scored new career highs with Deegan netting 21 and Ammons coming off the bench to add 18.  The duo combined for nine of EC's 14 3-pointers.  Ashley Folsom scored 12 points while Armi Anttila added 11.

The Tritons enter the final week of regular-season play on Wednesday visiting Saint Leo for a 5:30 PM tipoff.