ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The No. 8 Eckerd women's basketball team went on a first-quarter run and never looked back as they cruised past Embry-Riddle, 74-51, in the quarterfinals of the SSC Tournament at the McArthur Center on Tuesday night.
Both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm early in the opening quarter, with Eckerd notching the first basket at the 6:54 mark. The Tritons went on a 10-2 run over a four-minute stretch before taking an 18-9 favor at the end of the first quarter. The teams swapped baskets to open the second stanza before EC went on a 7-2 stretch to take a 30-15 favor. Eckerd took a 34-22 lead at the break.
At the 8:51 mark in the third quarter, a three-point play by Sofia Persson ignited a 15-4 Tritons' run as Eckerd took a 52-28 advantage. Eckerd cruised the rest of the frame, taking a 62-35 favor into the final quarter. EC continued to cruise in the final frame, maintaining a 20-plus point lead throughout.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: No. 8 Eckerd 74, Embry-Riddle 51
RECORDS: Eckerd 24-4; Embry-Riddle 12-14
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Persson led Eckerd with 28 points, while Hannah Wentworth and Nicole Scales rounded out the double-figure scorers with 17 and 10 points, respectively.
- Ragnheidur Einarsdottir and Lauryn Vieira led Eckerd on the board with seven rebounds each.
- Vieira and Persson grabbed three steals each, while Einarsdottir and Wentworth had two each.
- Eckerd shot 49.1 percent from the field while limiting the Eagles to 36.8 percent.
- Persson's 28 points are two shy of her career-high.
QUOTABLE
"Our defense led the way for us tonight," stated head coach Paul Honsinger '98. " I thought we did a nice job switching and defending to the scout. We also came alive offensively in the third quarter to expand our first-half lead."
UP NEXT
Eckerd moves on to the semifinals of the SSC Tournament on Thursday, hosting Lynn at 7:00 PM in the McArthur Center.
