VALDOSTA, Ga. – Eckerd used a strong shooting performance in the second half to defeat Valdosta State 76-59 in non-conference women's basketball action at The Complex Friday night.
The Tritons (1-0) shot 60.9 percent during the second half of play as they made 14 of their 23 field goals during the frame. The torrid shooting led to EC outscoring the Blazers 38-25 in the second half.
The first minutes of the game were back and forth before Eckerd used a 10-0 run to grab the lead. EC made all three of its field goals during the span, including three-pointers by Trine Kasemagi and Victoria Vine, to turn an 11-7 deficit into a 17-11 lead.
Valdosta State (0-1) fought back to take a 23-22 lead with 8:30 to play in the first half and the score remained close for the remainder of the half before Eckerd claimed a 38-34 halftime lead.
The first four minutes of the second half mirrored the first 20 minutes of play as the game remained tight with EC maintaining its lead. However, a 13-3 run over the next four minutes pushed the Triton lead to double digits as Eckerd built a 59-44 lead with 12:19 to play.
The Lady Blazers fought back over the ensuing two minutes as
Maggie Davis hit a free throw and
Amy Duke added a three-pointers and a jumper to close the Blazers to within 59-50, but VSU got no closer the rest of the game as Eckerd made six of their next seven field goal attempts to build its largest at 76-57 with two minutes to play in the contest.
Valdosta State shot 42.3 percent in the game as the Lady Blazers made 22-of-52 of their shots. VSU owned a 29-26 advantage in rebounding, but turned the ball over 17 times in the game.
Imari Simpson led three VSU players in double figures as she scored 14 points while
April Thomas and Duke scored 13 each. Davis had a team-high seven rebounds.
Vine led Eckerd with 18 points while Rana Thomas added 15, Jordyn Alexander 13 and Kasemagi 12. The Tritons shot 58.1 percent as they made 25 of their 43 field goal attempts, including eight-of-17 from the three-point line.
Valdosta State returns to action tomorrow evening as it hosts Fort Valley State at 6:00 p.m. in The Complex.
