FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The second appearance in the Sunshine State Conference championship for the Eckerd women's basketball team ended in heartbreak.
A last-second shot by
Zoe Richards was off the mark as the Tritons fell a point short of upsetting No. 19 Florida Southern, 61-60, in Rick Case Arena.
After falling behind by 10 points in the third quarter, Richards and
Octavia Loll led the Tritons in storming back and overtaking the lead with 6:29 to play
However, an off-balance shot by SSC Player of the Year Camille Giardina banked in while a foul was whistled on the shot with 18 seconds left. Her free throw finished the traditional 3-point play and the Tritons missed on their last opportunity to take the win.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: #19 Florida Southern 61, Eckerd 60
Records: Eckerd 22-9; Florida Southern 28-3
KEY MOMENTS
- The teams traded the lead seven times in a tightly-contested first quarter. A Julia Jenike basket put FSC ahead, 14-13, and Eckerd failed to score on its last two possessions of the period.
- The Tritons went back ahead early in the second quarter, leading by as many as four points with 4:00 left. Abby Whiteye's layup at that mark, however, was the team's last points of the half. The Mocs closed the final four minutes on a 7-0 run to take a 28-25 lead into halftime.
- A Chelsea Johnson layup cut the deficit to two points before FSC went on an 8-0 run to extend its lead to 10 with 5:40 left in the third quarter. Loll emerged on the offensive end for Eckerd, scoring eight straight points in helping keep the Tritons within striking distance. The Mocs briefly went back up by nine points but Zoe Richards scored five straight points and Mikayla Kuehne knocked down a 3-pointer in transition to cut the deficit to two. Giardina, however, made a late basket to end the quarter with a 52-48 Florida Southern lead.
- Richards scored Eckerd's first five points of the fourth quarter, tying the game at 51-51 with 7:41 to go. Moments later, Yarden Danan connected on a 3-pointer from left of the key to give Eckerd its first lead since the first quarter, 55-52. Â FSC responded with back-to-back baskets, and neither team enjoyed more than a two-point lead the rest of the game.
- Richards made a tough shot in the paint to put EC ahead, 62-60, with 37 seconds to go. Giardina followed with an off-balance shot while driving right of the lane. The shot banked in and a foul was called giving Giardina a chance to put the Mocs ahead, which she did by converting the traditional 3-point play.
- Playing for the last shot, Richards drove into traffic and put up a shot in traffic. Giardina stripped the ball away from Loll on the rebound, but fell to the floor and was called for traveling to give Eckerd the ball under its basket with 1.1 seconds left. Richards curled to the basket on the inbounds and had a good look, but the shot didn't fall.Â
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Eckerd made its second trip to the SSC Championship in the last three years. The Tritons won it in 2017 in Daytona Beach.
- Richards and Kuehne were named to the All-Tournament team.
- Richards scored 21 points off the bench while Loll added 11 as the only two Tritons to reach double figures.
- Chelsea Johnson and Abby Whiteye were both saddled with foul trouble. Johnson fouled out with 2:02 left on a borderline offensive foul whistle, negating the jumper she made on the play.
- The Tritons struggled from behind the arc for the second straight game, missing seven 3-pointers in a row to end the first half and making 5-of-15 on the afternoon. EC also went 11-of-16 from the free throw line after making 16-of-18 in Saturday's semifinal win.
- Eckerd forced FSC's two leading scorers and first-team all-conference selections, Giardina and Anja Fuchs-Robetin, into a combined 14-for-40 shooting performance.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will find out their seed in the NCAA Regional Championship tonight during the selection show beginning at 10:00 PM.
