ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Despite leading by double-digits for nearly the entire game, the No. 24 Eckerd women's basketball team used a late fourth-quarter run to fend off a second-half Embry-Riddle surge for its 10th victory, 64-54, of the season Wednesday evening at the McArthur Center.
The Tritons set the tone early with a 20-3 run to begin the game, including 13 unanswered points midway through the first. EC's season-long stellar defense was on full display, as the Eagles shot just 14.3 percent from the field in the opening frame, and the Tritons ended the first with a 16-point lead, 23-7.
The second quarter was a more even affair, as both teams scored 13 points. However, the Tritons' mounting lead appeared too much for the Eagles, as EC started the second with a 7-0 run to give them a 23-point lead, its largest of the game. Eckerd ended the half with a 17-point lead, 37-20.
Eckerd maintained its double-digit lead for the entire third quarter. In what quickly became a game of runs, the Eagles' 7-0 run to close the third nearly shrunk EC's lead to single-digits, as the Tritons ended the quarter up 13, 50-37.
The Tritons and Eagles swapped runs in the fourth, as the Eagles' 15-5 run to start the final frame pulled them within three, 55-52, with 2:29 to go. However, EC responded with back-to-back triples from Sofia Persson and Hannah Wentworth as part of a 12-4 run down the stretch, fueled by a 6-for-6 effort at the line from Persson, who led all scorers with nine points in the fourth to secure the victory.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: No. 24 Eckerd 64, Embry-Riddle 54
RECORDS: Eckerd 10-1 (6-3 SSC); Embry-Riddle 5-8 (3-5 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Persson registered her first career double-double, posting a stat line of 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
- Nicole Scales scored 14 points, including 4-for-6 from deep, giving her her third double-digit scoring effort off the bench this season.
- Persson shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the line, entering the night ranking sixth in the nation in free throw percentage shooting at a 92.86 percent clip.
- EC's bench outscored ERAU's, 25-19.
- EC was nearly perfect from the free throw line, going 13-for-14, good for 92.9 percent.
- EC held a 27-18 advantage on the boards.
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns to action next week with a road contest at Rollins College on Wednesday, January 19 at 5:30 PM.
