WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball dropped a heartbreaker on Saturday afternoon, falling 45-44 in a defensive battle to Embry-Riddle University inside Rubin Arena. The Sailfish fall to 2-11 with the Sunshine State Conference loss while Embry-Riddle improves to 10-5 with the road victory.
The Sailfish and Eagles both got off to slow starts offensively, as Embry-Riddle led 9-5 at the end of the opening quarter. The 'Fish had just one field goal in the first nine minutes before a Taylor Laabs three with nine seconds left cut the ERAU lead to four at the end of the quarter.
ERAU got the offense rolling a bit in the second quarter, as they outscored the 'Fish 16-11 and took a 25-16 lead into the half. The Sailfish shot just 7-for-28 (25 percent) in the first half but held Embry-Riddle to a 10-for-28 mark.
The second half was dominated by the Sailfish defense, as they held Embry-Riddle to just 10 points in each of the final two quarters and 1-for-17 from beyond the arc in the second half.
With 3:31 remaining in the third quarter, the Sailfish had the deficit cut to two points before Jonika Garvin scored three points the old-fashioned way and gave the Sailfish a 28-27 lead. The Eagles scored a couple buckets late in the 3rd to take a 35-33 lead into the final quarter.
Garvin again came up with a big shot as she hit a three to give the 'Fish a 40-37 lead with 6:01 to play in the game. The two teams went back-and-forth for the remained of the contest as a Ciara Cumbie layup put the 'Fish up 44-43 with 1:47 to play. Sigrid Sandstrom made a layup of her own for the Eagles to put ERAU ahead 45-44 just 15 seconds later and the Sailfish were unable to come up with a big shot in the final minute as they fell by one point.
Garvin led the 'Fish with 15 points and six rebounds on the afternoon, as Cumbie had 12 points and nine boards as she was close to a double-double. Mina Salhia came off the bench for the 'Fish to score seven points on the day, as the senior added a team-high four assists.
The Sailfish will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 16 as they will travel south to Barry to take on the Bucs in a 5:30 p.m. start.
