MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Eckerd women's basketball team struggled offensively, falling in a Sunshine State Conference contest at Florida Tech, 56-47, Wednesday night in the Clemente Center.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Florida Tech 56, Eckerd 47
Records: Eckerd 8-4 (4-2 SSC); Florida Tech 9-7 (4-3 SSC)
KEY MOMENTS
- Octavia Loll opened the Tritons scoring with a jumper as they took a quick 4-2 lead, but the Panthers answered with seven straight points. Loll hit a triple and Abby Whiteye made a jumper before the end of the first quarter, but Eckerd trailed Florida Tech, 13-9.
- The Panthers went on a 7-3 run to open the second quarter as they remained in control of the game early on. Mikayla Kuehne hit a jumper followed by a 3-pointer from Eneritz Larranaga to bring the Tritons within four points at the 2:23 mark. Maya Price scored on a jump shot just before halftime as Florida Tech entered the break up 24-19.
- A slow start in the third quarter by the Panthers allowed the Tritons to pull within one point at the 5:27 mark following a pair of jumpers from Loll and Larranaga. The Panthers answered with an 11-5 run to stretch their lead back to seven points at 35-28 to end the third.
- The teams traded baskets to open the fourth quarter, but three consecutive 3-pointers from Florida Tech doubled their lead. Kuehne answered with a jumper that sparked a 7-0 run, but another 3-pointer from November Morton ended the stretch. Eckerd battled back cutting Florida Tech's lead down to six points in the final minute, but three straight made free throws inside the final 30 seconds secured the win for the Panthers.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Whiteye led EC with 12 points while Loll and Larranaga added nine points apiece.
- Kuehne controlled the boards pulling down eight rebounds. Brooke Juday followed with a season-high of seven.
- Eckerd shot a season-low 33.3 percent from the floor and went just 5-for-26 from the perimeter.
- EC scored 12 second-chance points, compared to Florida Tech's two.
- The Panthers scored 17 points from turnovers while Eckerd only added five.
QUOTABLE
"Overall, we struggled tonight," said head coach
Paul Honsinger. "We moved the ball well for the open shots but were ice cold from the field. I was disappointed with our lack of energy and focus, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the team responds on Saturday."
UP NEXT
The Tritons stay on the road as they head to Daytona Beach to take on Embry-Riddle Saturday at 4:00 PM.
