Persson's Triple-Double Lifts No. 11 Tritons Over Panthers

MELBOURNE, Fla. - Sofia Persson led the No. 11 Triton women's basketball team to victory with a triple-double as Eckerd defeated Florida Tech 82-58 at the Charles and Ruth Clemente Center on Wednesday night. Nine Tritons contributed points to the 24-point margin as Eckerd closed out the first half of its conference schedule.

The Panthers got the early jump with an 8-4 lead. Persson and Nicole Scales attempted to equalize, but it wasn't until Ragnheidur Einarsdottir hit a 3-pointer for the Tritons to tip the scale in their favor. Dalma Ehmann tied the game before Cirkeline Rimdal and Einarsdottir began to pull the Tritons away. Three 3-pointers from Einarsdottir in the frame gave EC a 21-14 favor at the end of the first quarter. The Tritons began to run away with the game in the second frame. Eckerd was stingy on defense, only allowing nine points in the period while scoring 24. Hannah Wentworth hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Tritons took a 45-23 lead into the half. 

Eckerd worked up to a 32-point lead in the third quarter. Maya Price, Scales, and Wentworth combined for four 3-pointers to gain EC's second-largest favor of the game. A pair of free throws by Scales found the Tritons with a 66-35 lead heading into the final frame. The Panthers opened the quarter with a fight, but Rimdal and Einarsdottir answered back. Ieva Korzane hit a layup with 3:09 remaining to give the Tritons a 33-point lead, their largest of the game. Florida Tech scored 12 points in the final three minutes, but it was not enough to close the gap, with the Tritons securing the 82-58 victory. 

HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: No. 11 Eckerd 82, Florida Tech 58
RECORDS: Eckerd 14-3 (9-1 SSC); Florida Tech 3-10 (1-8 SSC)

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Persson tallied a triple-double with 11 rebounds, 10 points, and 10 assists. She is the first Triton to record a triple-double since at least the 2002-03 season. She is one of only nine players in NCAA Division II to record a triple-double this year. 
• Persson's 10 assists set a career-high.
• Price posted her third double-double of the season, tallying 12 points and 12 rebounds. 
• Einarsdottir tied her career-high with 18 points set against Columbus State (Ga.) on November 27, 2021. 
• Six Tritons notched double-digit points: Einarsdottir (18), Price (12), Wentworth (12), Scales (12), Rimdal (11), Persson (10).
• EC's bench outscored FIT's 34-20.
• Eckerd scored 36 points from 3-pointers, 36 points from two-pointers, and 10 points from free throws. 

UP NEXT
The No. 11 Tritons return home to begin the second half of their conference schedule on Saturday at 2:00 PM against Palm Beach Atlantic at the McArthur Center.