ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Despite leading for the majority of the game, the No. 20/12 Eckerd women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season after falling to Florida Southern, 56-55, Saturday afternoon at the McArthur Center on a late Moccasins' 3-pointer.
The Tritons opened the game with a 10-3 run. EC's efficient attack saw five players score en route to a slight lead, 16-11, heading into the second frame.
Hannah Wentworth sparked the Tritons' offense in the second quarter by burying three consecutive 3-pointers. EC led by as much as seven late in the second after Wentworth's third 3-pointer increased the Tritons lead to 33-26. However, FSC scored with 10 seconds left to pull within four, 36-32, at the half.
FSC kept the game close for most of the third quarter, but EC would not go away easily as they maintained their lead the entire stanza. The Tritons struggled offensively in the third, shooting just 28.6 percent from the field. FSC's Sarah Wohlgemuth scored on a layup to pull the Mocs within one, 47-46, with 3:20 to go. Neither team could muster much offense in the closing minutes, as neither team made a basket in the final two and a half minutes, as EC led 49-46 heading into the fourth.
FSC opened the fourth with a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 53-49, with 6:30 remaining. A three-point play by Maya Price gave EC back the lead, 55-53, with 2:03 on the clock. Both teams went quiet over the next two minutes before a 3-pointer by Whitney Jacob gave the Mocs a one-point lead with three seconds remaining. Price had a good look under the basket to close the game, but the shot was unable to fall as the Tritons dropped their first game of the season.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Florida Southern 56, No. 20/12 Eckerd 55
RECORDS: Eckerd 9-1 (5-3 SSC); Florida Southern 7-6 (5-2 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Price nearly had her third double-double of the season with 13 points and nine rebounds.
- Price's three blocks give her five games this season with multiple blocks.
- Two Tritons played the entire 40 minutes: Sofia Persson and Lauryn Vieira. Persson's six assists give her four games this season with five or more.
- Wentworth scored a career-high 11 points.
- Vieira and Persson added double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
- Vieira grabbed three steals.
- EC won the turnover battle, 16-13.
- EC's loss is their first since January 29, 2020, snapping a 20-game win streak, the longest in program history.
- Eckerd held FSC to a 35.7 percent field goal percentage.
QUOTABLE
"The team was a bit out-of-sync today, but we still managed to push the game to the final possession and came up just short," said head coach Paul Honsinger '98.
UP NEXT
Eckerd hosts Embry-Riddle at the McArthur Center on Wednesday at 5:30 PM.
