Sluggish Start Derails Tritons in SSC Semifinals

LAKELAND, Fla. - A cold start for the Eckerd women's basketball team in the Sunshine State Conference semifinals ended the Tritons' bid to repeat as tournament champions as Eckerd lost to Embry-Riddle, 61-53, on Saturday evening at Florida Southern.

Eckerd shot a paltry 23.1 percent in the first quarter, falling into a deficit from which the team could not recover.  Even though the shooting touch improved in the second half and the Tritons pulled within four points late, the upstart Eagles seemed to have an answer each time they were tested.

The Tritons still sit in an excellent position for a bid to the NCAA South Regional Tournament but will find out for certain on Sunday night.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Embry-Riddle 61, Eckerd 53
Records: Eckerd 22-7, Embry-Riddle 23-6

KEY MOMENTS

• Aside from a pair of early 3-pointers from Yarden Danan, the Tritons struggled offensively.  After Danan's second triple, Eckerd went nearly five minutes without a point, but it was a 10-1 Embry-Riddle run to close the quarter that made the biggest difference as the Eagles took an 18-10 lead.
• Eckerd went on a 7-0 run late in the second quarter to pull within one, but ERAU's Sabrina Whiting made the first of what seemed to be a series of timely shots for the Eagles.  Whiting canned a 3-pointer and, after a basket by Armi Anttila, Nicole Tucker made her own 3-pointer to push the lead to five.  Eckerd then closed the half with an unforced turnover in-bounding the ball underneath its own basket, leading to a Whiting jumper at the buzzer.
• The Eagles quickly pushed their lead to 11 early in the third quarter as Eckerd was hampered by turnovers making eight in the period.
• After ERAU extended its lead to 12 with 6:18 left, the Tritons made their final push and got within four points on a Zoe Richards layup with 4:49 left.  However, Embry-Riddle again came up with an answer in the form of a 3-pointer, this time from Lauren Ellenberger.  That shot proved to be the proverbial dagger as EC missed its next six shots and got no closer than six the rest of the game.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Chelsea Johnson was a bright spot offensively scoring a career-high 20 points, 17 of which came in the second half.
• Embry-Riddle shot 51.1 percent in the game, the second-best field goal percentage that the Tritons allowed this season.
• The Eagles also out-rebounded Eckerd, marking the first time since January 20 that EC had a minus margin on the boards.

UP NEXT
The Tritons await the NCAA Division II Selection Show on Sunday to find out if they earned a bid to the regional tournament. Eckerd was ranked No. 4 in the last south region poll.