ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The No. 12/15 Eckerd women's basketball team continued its season-long dominant defense with a blowout win against Palm Beach Atlantic, 60-39, Saturday afternoon at the McArthur Center.
The Sailfish earned the game's first basket, but it was all Tritons from there, as EC carried a double-digit lead, 19-9, to start the second quarter. Eckerd was narrowly outscored, 11-10, in the second period but increased its lead to as much as 16, 29-13, after a pair of consecutive Hannah Wentworth 3-pointers and a basket from Sofia Persson. The Sailfish nearly trimmed the Tritons lead to single digits with a 6-0 run to close the second, but EC ended the half with a 10-point favor, 29-19.
Eckerd's offense was red-hot to open the third stanza, going on an 11-3 run to increase its lead by nearly 20 points, 40-22, before ending the frame with a 49-30 advantage. EC enjoyed its largest lead of the night, 60-37, following free throws from Macie Knapp and Natalie Kalaydjiev with just over two minutes to go. PBA did not record a field goal for the last five minutes of the game, and the Tritons earned their 15th win of the season, 60-39.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: No. 12/15 Eckerd 60, Palm Beach Atlantic 39
RECORDS: Eckerd 15-2 (11-4 SSC); Palm Beach Atlantic 5-17 (2-13 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Persson's four steals are a career-high.
- EC's 13 steals mark a season-high.
- Four Tritons scored in double-digits: Wentworth (15), Persson (14), Vieira (11), and Maya Price (11).
- Wentworth scored 15 points and shot 5-for-9 from deep, leaving her two points shy of her career-high of 17 set earlier this season at Rollins (1/19/22).
- The Tritons won the rebounding margin, 46-38.
- Eckerd outscored PBA in the paint, 22-14.
- Vieira and Macie Knapp led EC on the boards with seven rebounds each.
QUOTABLE
"We had great production again from our bench tonight, and our press was effective creating turnovers," said head coach Paul Honsinger '98. "I also thought we rebounded great on both ends of the floor."
UP NEXT
The Tritons finish their three-game homestand with a matchup against Rollins on Wednesday at 5:30 PM.
