ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Lady Jackets opened play at the Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic with a 64-53 setback to the host Tritons at the McArthur Center.
Cait Behling scored a season-high 14 points for Cedarville, who drops to 2-3 overall.
Emma Kay Martin dropped in 12 points with a team-high seven rebounds while
Harmony Laker added 10 points.
The Jackets weathered a tough shooting start and trailed 19-8 after the first quarter, but Cedarville responded with a 24-point second period on 60 percent shooting to trim the margin to 35-32 at halftime.
The visitors got the game tied twice early in the third quarter the last of which was 39-39 with 6:07 remaining.
Eckerd went on a 14-2 run over the next 11 minutes to take control.
Quotable: Head Coach Addy Miller
"We knew heading to Florida that this would be a tough test - Eckerd is a program that's always in the postseason conversation. Our group answered the call and competed at a high level. Defensively, we were locked in: the communication was outstanding, the physicality was there, and the effort never wavered. That side of the ball really carried us tonight.
"Offensively, we're still putting the pieces together, but you can feel it starting to click. The more we trust each other and stay patient with the process, the sharper we'll get. Trips like this are all about progress, and tonight was a meaningful step in the right direction. We'll take the lessons, flip the page, and come back hungry for another big chance tomorrow."
Five Facts:
- Cedarville's 24-point second quarter marked its second-highest scoring period of the season.
- Behling recorded her second straight double-digit scoring performance.
- Martin's seven rebounds is a career-high.
- The Lady Jackets' bench outscored Eckerd's, 18-1.
- The all-time series between the two schools is level at 1-1.
