Hot Fourth Quarter Seals Victory for Triton Women

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - While the Eckerd women's basketball team offense sputtered for much of the first three quarters on Saturday at Palm Beach Atlantic, the defense did its job well enough for the Tritons to lead by 12 heading into the final quarter.

The offense then rose up to match the defense as Eckerd pulled away in the final 10 minutes for a 63-42 win over the Sailfish in West Palm Beach.

The Sailfish pulled within four points late in the first half and eight points in the third quarter as the hosts looked for their second straight upset in conference play, but Eckerd dashed those hopes with an extended 19-6 run in the fourth quarter.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 63, Palm Beach Atlantic 42
Records: Eckerd 18-6 (12-4 SSC); Palm Beach Atlantic 4-18 (2-14 SSC)

KEY MOMENTS

• After Palm Beach Atlantic held an 8-7 lead at the midway point of the first quarter, the Tritons rolled off 11 unanswered points while holding the Sailfish scoreless over the final 5:12 of the quarter.
• Eckerd missed a chance to add to its lead early in the second quarter, going nearly five minutes before scoring its first points of the period.  The Sailfish were unable to take full advantage, but the hosts managed to pull within four points at the 3:20 mark.  The Tritons responded by closing the half on an 8-0 run to take a 30-18 lead into halftime.
• Both teams' struggles from the floor continued in the third quarter. Eckerd managed to briefly extend its lead to 11 before going over three minutes without a point. But once again, the defense did its job well enough to keep PBA from capitalizing. A pair of Chelsea Johnson layups finished the quarter and pushed EC's lead back to 12 (40-28).
• The Tritons finally found an offensive groove early in the fourth quarter, making their first four shots as part of a 10-0 run that extended the lead to 22 points following back-to-back 3-pointers by Zoe Richards and Haeli Howard. Moments later, a string of seven unanswered points gave Eckerd its largest lead of the game at 25, and the Tritons cruised the rest of the way.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• The Tritons were 2-of-16 from 3-point range in the first three quarters before going 3-of-6 in the fourth quarter. Eckerd went 9-of-12 from the floor in the quarter.
• Eckerd grabbed a season-high 51 rebounds with a margin of plus-23, also its largest of the season.
• The win moved Eckerd into a tie for second place in the SSC standings with Tampa at 12-4.
• Richards led Eckerd with 11 points while Johnson had 10.  All 10 players scored in the win.

UP NEXT
The Tritons have an important matchup on Wednesday taking on SSC leader Florida Southern in the McArthur Center at 5:35 PM. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 as part of the NCAA Division II Showcase.