LAKELAND, Fla. - Bella Green's double-double lifted the Eckerd women's basketball team to a 71-52 victory over Lewis (Ill.) on day one of the Century Retail Christmas Classic at Jenkins Field House on Friday afternoon.
The game was off to a slow start, with neither team scoring a basket for just over three minutes. Hannah Wentworth opened the scoring with her first three of the day at the 6:55 mark in the first quarter. Wentworth and Green combined for 12 points for a 16-14 favor at the end of the first frame. A pair of three's by Jessie Ford in the second quarter led the Tritons as they shot 50 percent from beyond the arc in the frame. Eckerd closed the half up 35-30.
The Tritons opened the second half on a five point run by Wentworth and Lauryn Vieira, working up to a nine point lead in the first minute. Late in the third, the Tritons began to run away with the game, when a three by Ford gave Eckerd its first double-digit lead. A last minute bucket by Lewis brought the lead back to single digits, with a 53-44 favor. Martyna Kowalska put Eckerd up by its largest lead of the game of 21 with 2:54 remaining in the game. Eckerd closed out the game 71-52 in a dominant victory.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Eckerd 71, Lewis 52
RECORDS: Eckerd 5-4 (1-2 SSC); Lewis 6-4 (4-0 GLVC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Green had a double-double with a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds.
- Wentworth and Kowalska added double-digit figures with 15 and 10, respectively.
- Jessie Ford shot a perfect 3-for-3 from distance.
- Lauryn Vieira grabbed a career-high six steals. The last Triton to grab six steals in a game was Kacie Juday against Lynn on Febuary 3, 2018.
- EC outscored LU's bench 37-17. Green led the Tritons' bench, shooting 7-for-8 from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 on free throws.
- Eckerd missed only one free throw in the game, going 13-for-14 from the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
The Tritons continue at the Century Retail Christmas Classic hosted by Florida Southern, Saturday, where they face Illinois Springfield at 12:00 PM.
