MELBOURNE, Fla. – After a tight first half, the Eckerd women's basketball team used a third-quarter run to distance themselves from Florida Tech on Saturday afternoon at the Clemente Center. The Tritons held onto to the lead in the final quarter to seal the win and remain unbeaten in the opening week of conference play.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 65, Florida Tech 56
Records: Eckerd 5-1 (2-0 SSC), Florida Tech 2-5 (0-1 SSC)
KEY MOMENTS
- Florida Tech opened the game on a 7-0 run before Armi Anttila made a layup to put Eckerd on the board. The Panthers held a six-point lead with just under four minutes left in the quarter until the Tritons made four straight shots as part of an 8-0 run to take a 15-13 lead. The Panthers made a jumper to even the score at 15-15 to end the period.
- Florida Tech used a 10-3 run to start the second quarter to take a 25-18 lead with 4:33 left in the half. The Panthers stretched their lead to eight points two minutes later before the Tritons utilized a 9-0 run to end the half and take a 29-28 lead into the break.
- Eckerd came out aggressively to start the second half, using a 10-1 run over the first five minutes to take a 10-point lead. Anttila and Yarden Danan combined for eight points during the stretch. The teams traded baskets over the remainder of the period as the Tritons took a 45-36 lead to end the quarter.
- Both teams stayed quiet for the first three minutes of the final quarter before the Panthers cut the Tritons' lead to five after an Amanda Allen jumper at the 6:19 mark. Zoe Richards netted two quick layups in the next minute to push the Tritons lead back to nine before Danan nailed a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 11 with just under four minutes to go. EC kept a three-possession lead through the final minutes while going 7-for-7 from the free throw line to seal the win.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Danan led three Tritons in double figures with 17 while Richards and Anttila added 15 and 10 points respectively. Danan also swiped a career-high four steals.
- Octavia Loll led the Tritons on the boards with six while Danan, Eneritz Larranaga, and Mikayla Kuehne each collected four.
- Eckerd was cold from behind the arc, making just 2-of-18 attempts, but still shot 47.1 percent from the floor thanks to making 22-of-33 shots inside the arc.
- Eckerd has won the past six meetings with Florida Tech.
UP NEXT
Eckerd has a week off before returning to SSC play with a trip to Barry on Saturday for a 2:00 PM tip-off.
