Tritons Start Slow, Can't Recover as Season Ends in Regionals

LAKELAND, Fla. - A slow start and poor shooting proved too much for the Eckerd women's basketball team to overcome in the first round of the NCAA South Regional Tournament as the Tritons' season came to an end with a 76-50 loss to West Florida at Jenkins Field House.

The Tritons came out cold from the floor while the Argos were the opposite, shooting 60 percent in the first period on the way to a 15-point lead.  West Florida's lead did not dip below double-digits the rest of the game as Eckerd continued to find difficulty scoring points.

UWF made the most of its size advantage, pounding the ball inside and dominating the glass getting a combined 44 points from all-region forwards Toni Brewer and Halee Nieman.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: West Florida 76, Eckerd 50
Records: Eckerd 22-10; West Florida 24-5

KEY MOMENTS

• Eckerd struggled from the floor early, making just one of its first seven shots as UWF jumped out to an 11-3 lead. 
• The Tritons continued to have problems getting into an offensive rhythm, falling behind by as many as 15 in the first quarter and ended the period trailing, 22-12, after five straight points by Chelsea Johnson including a buzzer-beating putback.
• West Florida opened the second quarter on a 9-3 run to extend its lead to 16 with 6:47 left in the half. Eckerd then hit another scoring drought going 4:25 without a field goal as the Argos opened up a 43-21 lead before a Mikayla Kuehne 3-pointer broke the run. The Tritons scored the last five points of the half to cut the deficit to 17 at the break.
• The Argos knocked down two early 3-pointers in the third quarter, a sign of things to come for the rest of the period.  UWF went on an extended 17-3 run to go ahead by 29.
• West Florida continued to dominate physically in the final 10 minutes, giving Eckerd no opportunity to make headway.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Eckerd shot 4-of-15 in the first quarter and 1-of-7 from 3, while UWF was 9-of-15 from the field and 2-of-3 from behind the arc. The Argos also held a 13-5 edge on the boards.
• Richards picked up her second foul late in the first quarter and did not play in the second quarter.
• Johnson led Eckerd with 15 points but finished three points away from ending her career with 1000.
• Eckerd was making its fourth appearance in the regional tournament in the last five years.
• West Florida out-rebounded Eckerd, 43-31, and had 12 second-chance points from 10 offensive rebounds.