Folsom Explodes for 32, Leads No. 21 Eckerd Past Tampa

Box Score TAMPA, Fla. - Eckerd's Ashley Folsom picked a good night to have a career game.

The senior post dropped in a career-best 32 points as the Triton women's basketball team defeated the University of Tampa, 65-58, on the road Wednesday to finish the regular-season sweep of their rival Spartans.

The win was Eckerd's 12th in SSC play, setting a record for the most conference wins in a season in program history.

"Our team showed some toughness on the road tonight in a tight game," said EC head coach Paul Honsinger.  "We got big stops down the stretch and knocked down our free throws to close out the game."

Tampa overcame a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to briefly take the lead in the fourth, and the Spartans had a chance to tie the game down by three with final possession.

Eckerd, however, got a crucial stop by forcing Elena de Alfredo into a turnover, prompting a Spartan foul and technical foul to put the Tritons at the line where Kacie Juday made good on all four attempts.

The Tritons (19-4, 12-2 SSC) didn't shoot the ball particularly well, making under 40 percent of their attempts, but utilized Folsom nicely.  Folsom went 13-of-25 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line on her way to a career high.

"We had a mismatch inside with Ashley and she did a great job finishing," said Honsinger.  "We went cold from the perimeter in the second half and she carried us."

Folsom scored 17 points in the second half, 14 of which came in the third quarter.

A Folsom layup with 6:48 to go in the third extended EC's lead to 15, but the Spartans (14-7, 9-4 SSC) went on an 11-2 run to get back within five points and later used a quick 6-0 burst to take a two-point lead with 4:02 left.

Both teams missed several chances over the following two minutes before Juday converted a traditional 3-point play.  She again came up with a vital basket with 29 seconds left as her layup broke a 58-58 tie and gave EC the lead for good.

Juday added 14 points while Victoria Vine returned to the floor after missing the second half of Saturday's loss to Rollins with an injury.  Vine led Eckerd on the boards with 10 rebounds.  Folsom's 32-point performance is tied for the third-most in a game in program history and is the most since Gabby Gattuso scored 40 points in 2007.

The Tritons, who maintain their one-game lead in the SSC standings, pay a visit to Nova Southeastern on Saturday for a 2:00 PM tipoff.