VALDOSTA, Ga. – A strong shooting performance from No. 11 Eckerd College handed No. 22 Valdosta State an 88-58 loss in the season-opener for both teams Friday evening. Lady Blazer sophomore
Taylor Searcey recorded her second career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, along with five assists to lead the team and three players in double figures.
The Tritons shot 66.7 percent in the first half and finished the game at 30 of 54 from the field for a 55.6 average, while they were 11 of 24 from deep (45.8) and 17 of 24 from the line. VSU finished 17 of 54 from the field for a 31.5 average, while going 10 of 23 from deep for a 43.5 average and 14 of 22 from the line. Searcey was 4 of 12 from the field, including 2 of 3 from deep and 4 of 4 from the line. It was her first double-double since scoring 16 points and 11 rebounds against Montevallo on Dec. 18, 2021. Sophomore
India Jordan finished with 12 points on 3 of 10 from the field and 6 of 10 from the line, while junior
Tamiya Francis also had 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting and drained a team-high four treys.
Eckerd was led by 17 points from Ragnheidur Einarsdottir on 6 of 9 from the field, while Hannah Wentworth and Sofia Persson each added 16 points and Nicole Scales chipped in 25 points. The trio was a combined 18 of 29 from the field, 7 of 14 from deep and 10 of 14 from the line. The Tritons held a 37-33 lead in rebounding and forced VSU into 21 turnovers leading to a 30-11 lead in points off turnovers. Reigning Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year Maya Price was saddled with foul trouble early and finished with four points in 12 minutes and fouled out.
The Lady Blazers continue the homestand on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m., to open Gulf South Conference play versus rival Lee University at The Complex.
Eckerd stays in Valdosta and will play West Florida tomorrow at 4 p.m., at The Complex in a neutral site game as the tournament the three teams originally were scheduled to be in participating in this weekend in West Palm Beach, Fla., at Palm Beach Atlantic University was cancelled do Hurricane Nicole earlier this week. The game between the Tritons and Argos is free of charge.
Einarsdottir and Scales gave the Tritons a 9-4 lead early and, following a bucket from Lady Blazer sophomore transfer
Kate Tanner, EC's Sofia Persson answered with a triple for a 12-6 lead and a timeout by the Lady Blazers with 5:54 left in the first quarter. VSU began just 1 of 7 from the field, while Eckerd was 5 of 8 early.
Following a turnover on the Tritons, Searcey drained a triple from the top of the arc pulling the Lady Blazers within 12-9. A turnover by VSU and layup by the Tritons, along with a trey from Einarsdottir and a bucket from Scales pushed Lady Blazer deficit to ten at 19-9 with four minutes left in the quarter. A free throw from Jordan and a trey from Francis pulled VSU back within 19-13 and 2:47 left in the opening frame. Eckerd finished the quarter on a 7-2 run for a 26-15 lead through one frame.
For the quarter, Eckerd shot 11 of 17 from the field for 64.7 percent, while VSU was just 4 of 14 for 28.6 percent. VSU held a 10-9 lead in rebounding. Einharsdottir had a game-high seven points, while Scales added six for Eckerd in the quarter, while Searcey led the way for the Lady Blazers with five points.
The Tritons continued the momentum with a 21-1 run to start the second quarter and a 28-3 run since the 2:47 mark of the first quarter. Francis buried a triple for the first field goal of the second quarter for the Lady Blazers with 4:21 left in the half. Later, Blazer junior
Emma Martin hit a triple for a 53-24 deficit and under a minute left in the first half and senior
Kendall Bollmer followed suit for a 55-27 deficit, but Scales answered with a trey at the buzzer for a 58-27 score at intermission.
For the half, VSU was 8 of 24 from the field for 33.3 percent, while it was 5 of 13 from deep and 6 of 10 from the line. Francis and Jordan each had six points to lead the team, but 15 turnovers proved costly as Eckerd held a 22-7 lead in points off turnovers.
The Tritons shot a blistering 20 of 30 from the field for 66.7 percent, while they were 9 of 16 from deep and 9 of 14 from the line. EC held an 18-14 lead in rebounding and Wentworth had a team-high 16 points on 6 of 10 from the field and 4 of 8 from range for the half. Price was saddled with three fouls in the first half and had two points.
Searcey was true on an off-balance jumper in the paint for a 65-39 deficit with three minutes left in the third. It was Searcey's team-leading 11
th point. Following a bucket from Eckerd, Searcey buried her second triple of the night for a 71-38 deficit. Senior
Lili Long hit a trey at the buzzer of the third for a 74-44 deficit through three frames as VSU outscored Eckerd 17-16 in the third quarter.
Bollmer hit her second triple of the game in the corner off an assist from Tanner, for a 78-47 score with seven minutes left in the game. It was the ninth made 3-pointer of the game for the Lady Blazers as they had a better percentage from beyond the arc than from within. Later, Jordan made a great cut to the bucket for two and an 82-50 score with five minutes remaining as the final margin was 88-58.
The Lady Blazers played much better in the second half as they outscored Eckerd 31-30 for the final two quarters as they held Eckerd to 10 of 24 from the field for the second half and just 2 of 8 from deep.
