ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd women's basketball team defeated Saint Leo 65-50 after trailing in the first quarter on Wednesday night.
Eckerd jumped out to a quick 7-0 tilt, before the Lions scored eight unanswered to flip the score in their favor. A triple by Jaylen Ostenson gave the Tritons their lead back at the six minute mark. A pair of free throws for the Lions knotted the game at 10. The Tritons trailed by seven at the end of the opening frame, Lions leading 21-14. A six-point Eckerd run to open quarter three shortened the deficit to one. A driving layup by Martyna Kowalska tipped the scales in Eckerd's favor at the 4:03 mark, for a lead the Tritons would maintain for the remainder of the game. The Tritons held a 34-26 advantage at the intermission.
The Tritons grew their lead to double-digits in the early half or quarter three. Eckerd held Saint Leo scoreless in the last three minutes of the quarter, with a late triple by Ieva Korzane giving Eckerd the 54-34 lead. Though the Lions were stingy to give up free throws, Eckerd was 2-for-2 from the charity stripe in the final period. Despite being outscored in the final frame 16-11, Eckerd held on to close the game with a 65-50 victory.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Eckerd 65, Saint Leo 50
RECORDS: Eckerd 14-4 (9-3 SSC); Saint Leo 7-12 (2-10 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Bucher paced the Tritons with 16 points. Ostenson trailed behind with 12 points.
- Kowalska flirted with a double-double, grabbing 10 boards and tacking on nine points.
- Eckerd held the Lions to five points in the second quarter.
- EC's bench outscored SLU's 21-4.
- Eckerd converted 19 points off turnovers.
- The Tritons outshot the Lions 38-20 in the paint.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will return to the McArthur Center Saturday to face Florida Tech with a 2:00 PM tipoff.
