ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- The Eckerd women's basketball team raced out to a large lead in the first quarter and utilized strong defense in the second half to cruise past Florida Tech on Saturday afternoon, 65-43.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 65, Florida Tech 43
Records: Eckerd 13-5 (7-4 SSC), Florida Tech 8-9 (5-6 SSC)
HOW IT ENDED
- Eckerd began the game on an 8-0 run and never looked back. The run was highlighted by two Eckerd 3-pointers with one each from Chelsea Johnson and Yarden Danan. The Panthers pulled within three points three minutes later before a Danan 3-pointer put the Tritons up by eight with 4:28 left in the quarter. Another Danan 3-pointer paced a 7-0 run to end the first quarter giving the Tritons a 13-point lead.
- Abby Whiteye scored the first six points for Eckerd in the second quarter before a Dallas Dickerson layup put Eckerd up by 17 points with 7:16 left in the half. FIT went on a 12-4 run to end the half pulling within nine points as the Tritons carried a 37-28 lead into halftime.Â
- FIT knocked in the opening basket of the third quarter to pull within seven points before both teams went cold over the next five minutes with neither scoring a point. Eckerd finally broke the drought six minutes into the half on a free throw by Whiteye, a shot that triggered a 14-3 run to close the period. After missing their first six shots of the quarter, the Tritons closed by making five of their last seven including a corner 3 by Whiteye to extend the lead to 51-33.
- Eckerd continued to breeze in the fourth quarter never relinquishing less than a 20-point lead. A Danan 3-pointer at the 5:28 mark gave Eckerd its largest lead of the night of 24 points as Eckerd went on to win, 65-43.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Danan led all scorers with 19 points going 5-for-10 from 3-point range, four of which came in the first half alone. Whiteye scored career-high 17Â points and grabbed 11 rebounds while posting the first double-double of her career. Ada Yalcin tied her career-high in assists with eight.
- Eckerd shot 43 percent for the game, including a 48.6 percentage in the first half while holding FIT to 28.6 percent in the second half. The Eckerd defense was particularly strong in the second half, holding the Panthers to just 15 points and five points in the third quarter.
- Eckerd only committed 10 turnovers in the win - its second-lowest amount this season - while also grabbing eight steals. Kacie Juday led Eckerd with four steals.
- The Tritons have now won five straight against Florida Tech.
- EC held its spot in a tie for third place in the SSC standings.
QUOTABLE
"The team played well today on both sides of the court. We executed offensively, played unselfishly and knocked down our open shots to get a good lead. Our defense was strong in the second half, holding them to just 15 points. We also got a great lift from our bench. Abby and Zoe played extremely well and rounded out a balanced team effort." - EC head coach
Paul Honsinger
UP NEXT
Eckerd will return to the McArthur Center Wednesday night hosting Tampa for a 5:30 PM tip. Â
Â
