TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 23/15 Eckerd women's basketball team fended off a second-half rally by the Spartans as the Tritons downed No. 12/9 Tampa, 51-50, in an SSC showdown Friday afternoon at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center. The Tritons improve to 9-0 for their best start in program history.
The Tritons and Spartans played a close first quarter, with Eckerd owning a slight advantage, 17-13. EC took over in the second quarter, holding the Spartans to just seven points, while EC ended the half on a 16-3 run. Sofia Persson was red-hot in the frame and scored 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Eckerd entered intermission with a comfortable 36-20 lead.
EC's offense cooled off in the second half as the Spartans used a pair of 7-0 runs to begin and end the third quarter, trimming Eckerd's lead to six, 43-37. Tampa started the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run to tie the game, 43-43. Both teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter until Persson drew a foul and buried both free throw attempts to give the Tritons a three-point lead, 51-48, with 1:05 left. The Spartans cut their deficit to one point moments later. After a miss on the Tritons' ensuing possession, UT had the last look on the basket, but EC's defense forced an off-balance shot to hold on for the win, 51-50.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: No. 23/15 Eckerd 51, No. 12/9 Tampa 50
RECORDS: Eckerd 9-0 (5-0 SSC); Tampa 12-3 (3-1 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Persson's 23 points are a career-high. She also led the team with two blocks and two steals.
- Four Tritons posted five or more rebounds: Lauryn Vieira (9), Ragnheidur Einarsdottir (8), Maya Price (8), and Cirkeline Rimdal (5).
- Nicole Scales dished out four assists off the bench, a career-high mark.
- EC's stellar defense was on full display once again, holding the Spartans to a 31.7 shooting percentage from the field, including 18.8 percent from 3-point range.
- The Tritons held UT to their lowest field goal percentage of the season and second-lowest scoring game this season.
- Eckerd snapped the Spartans' 11-game winning streak.
- With 20 consecutive wins, Eckerd holds the longest active win streak in the nation.
- EC is now 2-0 against nationally-ranked opponents this season.
QUOTABLE
"This was a great road win for us today. Our defensive energy and effort were outstanding all game long," said assistant coach
Ashton Feldhaus. "Sofia [Persson] carried us offensively, and the team did a great job getting her the ball. I'm very proud of our effort and how they handled themselves down the stretch."
UP NEXT
The Tritons scheduled contest Sunday against Florida Tech has been canceled, and Eckerd will be back in action with an SSC road contest at Barry on Wednesday, January 5 at 5:30 PM.
