TAMPA, Fla. -- The Eckerd Tritons women's basketball team won its eighth straight game on Wednesday, handing the Tampa Spartans their first home loss of the season with a score of 73-63.
Lisa Michaelsen knocked down the first two baskets of the game for the Tritons, both from beyond the arc, as Eckerd traded blows with the Spartans in a back-and-forth opening stretch. Tampa later used a 6-0 run to grab a 12-7 advantage midway through the first quarter and eventually pushed its lead to as many as eight. Eckerd responded in the final two minutes, doubling its point total with a 10-2 surge to close the frame and knot the score at 20-20 entering the second.
Sarah Racaud poured in eight points during the run and capped the quarter by assisting on
Ieva Korzane's buzzer-beating layup. The Tritons hit 5-7 from three-point range through the first 10 minutes.
Emma Egan put Eckerd back in front on the Tritons' opening possession of the second quarter, igniting another tightly contested stretch that featured four lead changes and no advantage greater than three points until the final minute. Eckerd buried three more triples in the period, each from a different player, and closed the half on a decisive 10-2 run to turn a three-point deficit into a 38-33 lead at the break. Defensively, the Tritons held Tampa to just one made field goal over the final 5:45 of the half.
Tampa seized control to open the third quarter, scoring the first 14 points and holding Eckerd scoreless for the first seven minutes. Korzane snapped the drought with a pair of free throws to pull the Tritons within seven at 47-40, igniting a strong closing surge for Eckerd.
Jaylen Ostenson added four points and Korzane posted six over the final three minutes as the Tritons ended the quarter on a 12-0 spurt to reclaim the lead. Ostenson's free throws put Eckerd ahead with under a minute remaining, before Korzane delivered another last-second basket to send Eckerd into the final frame up 50-47.
Eckerd enjoyed its most efficient shooting performance of the night in the fourth quarter, connecting on better than 53 percent from the field. Korzane scored the Tritons' first five points of the period before back-to-back three-pointers from Michaelsen near the midway point extended the lead from three to nine. Ostenson added a triple with 2:31 remaining to make it a 12-point cushion, and Korzane sealed the win by going 5-6 at the free-throw line down the stretch as Eckerd closed out a 73-63 victory.
Korzane led the way with 20 points, while Michaelsen finished with 15 points on her five made threes. Ostenson also contributed 14 points and seven boards.
Eckerd improves to 18-4 with the win and 12-2 in the SSC. The team will return home to face Florida Tech on Saturday.
*Ieva Korzane's basket at the end of the first quarter was initially credited to Sarah Racaud. An updated box score reflecting the correction is forthcoming.
