Box Score MELBOURNE, Fla. - Despite heading into the Sunshine State Conference tournament as the No. 7 seed, the Eckerd women's basketball team had been very much in a good portion of their conference games late in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, the Tritons struggled to find ways to close those games out, and it happened again on Wednesday night as the team's season came to an end with a 70-62 loss at second-seeded Florida Tech.
Showing the fight that helped define the team all season long, Eckerd overcame a 14-point deficit early in the fourth quarter cutting it down to four points at 62-58 with 2:21 to play.
On the ensuing possession, Florida Tech used one of its major strengths to hang onto its lead.
Eckerd (12-14) forced the Panthers into a missed shot, but FIT's Julie McCarthy grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled on the putback. She made both free throws and, after a missed 3-pointer by EC on the other end, things began to favor the hosts as the clock ran down.
Another offensive rebound led to free throws for Florida Tech on its next possession, putting the Panthers ahead by seven with 1:24 to play. Eckerd answered with a layup by
Chelsea Johnson, then took the ball back after a turnover, but couldn't make it a one-possession game after failing to get a shot.
Forced to foul, the Tritons hoped for FIT to fail to convert on its free throws but the Panthers knocked down enough to seal the win.
"I thought our team played hard tonight and competed right to the end," said Eckerd head coach
Paul Honsinger, "but I credit Florida Tech. They capitalized on our mistakes and turned them into points. We had our chances late but couldn't put stops and scores together."
Florida Tech (19-8) led for the majority of the game and appeared to be on the verge of pulling away after building a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter before Eckerd battled back.
Second-chance points again plagued the Tritons in a loss to FIT, which turned 13 offensive rebounds into 20 points.
The game brought an end to the careers of
Margaret Sundberg and
Kaitlin Jackson. Sundberg finished the game with nine points and six assists.
Ashley Folsom, who earlier in the day was named to the SSC All-Newcomer team, led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
Kacie Juday added 12 points for Eckerd.
The Tritons will look ahead to next season, which should begin with a solid foundation with four starters returning.
