ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd women's basketball team avenged a January loss to Nova Southeastern with a blowout win in the McArthur Center on Saturday afternoon. The Tritons dominated on both ends of the court, shooting 54 percent from the field while the defense held the Sharks to 20 points below their season average.
After leading by as many as 18 points in the second quarter, Nova Southeastern trimmed the lead to 10 at halftime and scored the first points of the second half via a 3-pointer to pull within seven. The Tritons took over from that point forward, using a 21-2 run in the third quarter and an 11-2 run in the fourth on the way to a 32 point win.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 79, Nova Southeastern 47
Records: Eckerd 17-6 (11-5 SSC), Nova Southeastern 10-12 (6-10 SSC)
KEY MOMENTS
- Both team's offenses had a sluggish start as Eckerd held a 3-2 lead just over four minutes into the first quarter. The Sharks took their only lead of the afternoon (5-3) at the 5:21 mark before Eckerd went on a 16-2 run ending the quarter with a 19-7 lead capped by an Abby Whiteye 3-pointer to end the period.
- Eckerd went on an 11-5 run to open the second quarter, stretching the lead to 18 points. The Sharks began to heat up from the floor and pulled within six points with one minute left, but back-to-back layups by Zoe Richards and Ada Yalcin gave Eckerd a 10-point lead at the half, 38-28.
- NSU''s Mary Hirt hit a 3-pointer to begin the second half pulling within seven points, but Eckerd quickly shut down the Sharks' offense allowing NSU to score only three more points in the quarter. Eckerd was equally as good offensively, using runs of 11-0 and 10-0 to expand its lead to 25 points. The Tritons ended the quarter with back-to-back steals by Whiteye leading to a Chelsea Johnson layup both times.
- The fourth quarter was more of the same for a hot-shooting Triton offense. Eckerd began the period on an 11-2 run, pulling out to a 34-point lead. Eckerd maintained a lead of at least 30 points for the remainder of the quarter.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Four Tritons scored in double figures with Richards and Johnson leading the way with 17 and 16 points respectively while Kacie Juday and Armi Anttila each contributed 10 points.
- Yalcin led Eckerd with seven assists while Whiteye distributed a career-high six assists. Whiteye also swiped a career-high four steals.
- This is the sixth time Eckerd has shot over 50 percent in a game this season.
- The Tritons held the Sharks to just 19 points in the second half and six points in the third period. NSU's 29.4 shooting percentage was the second-lowest shooting that percentage the Tritons have held opponents to this season. The lowest was against Christian Brothers (Dec. 6) which shot 29.3 percent.
- Eckerd remains in third place in the SSC standings following the win sitting one game behind its next opponent, Embry-Riddle.
QUOTABLE
"We dictated the game defensively and it set us up for some easy scores in transition. We executed our game plan well and competed hard. I was also happy with our aggressiveness on the boards. It was another good win with a lot of contributors.
UP NEXT
Eckerd continues SSC action next week with a tough contest as they travel to Embry-Riddle Wednesday for a 5:30 PM tip.
