MELBOURNE, Fla. – The No. 17 Eckerd women's basketball team concluded its regular-season slate at Florida Tech as the Tritons held off a late Panthers' surge to win, 62-55, Saturday afternoon at the Charles & Ruth Clemente Center.
The Tritons continued their season-long habit of significant leads to begin games, as they ended the first frame with a 23-10 favor. EC opened the game on a 12-4 run and reigned from beyond the arc, going 5-for-7 from deep in the quarter.
EC continued to add to its lead in the second stanza, taking advantage of an 11-2 run, pushing out to a 20 points advantage with 1:33 to go. The Tritons went into halftime, leading 36-18.
Each team scored 15 points in the third quarter as the Tritons' 3-point shooting cooled. Despite the deep shooting struggles, Eckerd maintained its double-digit lead for the entire frame and took a 51-33 lead heading into the finale.
Eckerd's offense struggled in the final quarter as the Panthers attempted a valiant comeback. FIT trimmed the Tritons lead to single digits, down by just five points (58-55) with 1:05 left. A Lauryn Vieira layup sealed the game, and the Tritons earned their 19th win of the season, 62-55.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: No. 17 Eckerd 62, Florida Tech 55
RECORDS: No. 17 Eckerd 19-3 (15-5 SSC); Florida Tech 3-22 (1-19 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Price's seven blocks are a career-high. Her 48 blocks on the season are first in the SSC. They also rank tied for fifth in single-season program history. Her seven blocks are the most by a Triton since Krystal Charles also swatted seven shots against Lynn on January 25, 2012.
- Four Tritons scored in double-digit figures: Nicole Scales (13), Hannah Wentworth (12), Maya Price (12), and Sofia Persson (10).
- Four players tallied 30 or more minutes: Vieira (38), Wentworth (31), Persson (30), and Price (30).
- EC dominated in the paint, outscoring FIT 22-8.
- With the conclusion of their regular season, the Tritons enter the Sunshine State Conference tournament as the No. 3 seed.
- Price just missed a double-double with 12 points and seven rebounds as did Vieira with eight boards and eight assists.
QUOTABLE
"We got off to a fast start today with hot shooting and tough defense," said head coach Paul Honsinger '98. "We are looking forward to the conference tournament. I know the team is excited about postseason play."
UP NEXT
Eckerd continues its season with the Sunshine State Conference tournament, hosting the sixth-seeded Nova Southeastern Sharks on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.
