TAMPA, Fla. - A nine-point Triton favor in the fourth quarter was stifled by the No. 12 Spartans as the Eckerd women's basketball team dropped, 62-58, its third straight game of the season in the Bob Martinez Center on Sunday afternoon.
Eckerd opened up the scoring just over a minute into the game, as Martyna Kowlaska got things going for the Tritons with a jumper. The teams traded baskets before Tampa worked to a four-point favor. Eckerd answered back, taking a six-point lead at the end of the frame, 17-11. The Spartans fought back early in the second quarter, going on a 10-0 scoring run to regain the lead. Lauryn Vieira brought the Tritons back to tie the game before the team's exchanged leads yet another time. The Spartans worked back to a six-point favor before Eckerd ended the half on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 29 apiece.
Eckerd was dominant in the early goings of the second half, taking a five-point lead with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter. The Tritons headed into the final frame up 44-42. A seven-point run to start the fourth period gave Eckerd its largest margin of the game at nine. The Spartans answered back, narrowing their deficit to two at the at the 4:26 mark. Back-to-back baskets by Mya Giusto and Sarah Jones saw Tampa leading 57-54 with 2:56 remaining. A 3-pointer by Sonja Schuch evened the score before Tampa took the lead once more on a pair of free throws. The Tritons had a chance to tie the game in the final 20 seconds but were unable to come back, falling 62-58.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: No. 12 Tampa 62, Eckerd 58
RECORDS: Eckerd 3-4 (0-2 SSC); Tampa 8-2 (3-0 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Hannah Wentworth posted 12 points in her first game back this season. She drained three 3-pointers and shot 5-for-12 from the floor.
- Vieira led the Tritons with 20 points and eight boards.
- Vieira, Wentworth, and Bella Green grabbed two steals each.
- The teams swapped leads nine times in the game, while the score was tied six times.
- EC outshot UT from beyond the arc 32.3 percent to 29.4 percent.
- Eckerd shot .375 percent from the perimeter in the opening frame, going 3-for-8.
UP NEXT
The Tritons host Florida Southern next Saturday at 2:00 PM in their home opener at the McArthur Center.
