ST. PETERSBURG -- The Eckerd Tritons women's basketball team picked up its fourth straight victory on Saturday afternoon, capping off the home Thanksgiving Classic with a 67-60 win over the USC Beaufort Sand Sharks.
The Sand Sharks saw one of just two leads in the contest come right away after hitting the first basket of the game, and were met with seven straight points from the Tritons following a three by
Ieva Korzane and a pair of layups from
Emma Egan and
Jaylen Ostenson. Korzane's second triple of the quarter at the halfway point doubled up the lead for Eckerd at 12-6, but USCB answered with five consecutive points and eventually regained the lead for a second time at 14-13. Egan's bucket with 30 seconds to go broke a 17-17 tie and put the Tritons on top 19-17 after 10 minutes of action.
Eckerd saw its best performance come in the second quarter, out-scoring Beaufort 21-14 to grab a 40-31 advantage at the halftime break. After the Sand Sharks cut the deficit to three early on in the frame, the Tritons rattled off a 9-2 scoring outburst to secure the first double-digit cushion of the game.
Lisa Michaelsen's three and Egan's layup late in the frame ended a small USCB run and extended the lead out to 11 before
Sarah Racaud's triple with 44 seconds remaining put the Tritons up 12, the largest lead of the half. The Sand Sharks answered with a three on their final possession to cut the margin down to nine.
In the third, the Tritons enjoyed their largest differential of 13 early on following a basket by Ostenson. Eckerd remained out in front by double figures through the next five minutes of action, but Beaufort closed the gap down by a point after winning the quarter by a score of 14-13. Both defenses highlighted the period, holding one another to just four made shots apiece. Eckerd's defense held Beaufort to just 26 percent in the third, while the Tritons hit 36 percent of their looks. Eckerd led 53-44 entering the fourth.
The Sand Sharks made it interesting early in the final frame, getting within three points after just three minutes of play. The two teams went back and forth, with the three-point margin remaining intact at 60-57 with 2:46 showing on the clock.
Savannah Borowicz, who entered the game for the first time in the fourth quarter, connected on her lone shot attempt after USCB cut it to three, doubling the lead for the Tritons to 63-57.
Kailyn Terrell accounted for the next three points for Eckerd to keep the team out of reach and the Tritons held the Sand Sharks to just three points in the final two minutes to hang on for the seven-point win.
Michaelsen led Eckerd in the win with 16 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks, while Egan notched another double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Ostenson and Korzane each contributed double figures in scoring with 12 and 10, respectively.
With the win, the Tritons improve to 4-2 on the season. The team will resume SSC play on Wednesday vs. Tampa at home.
