ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — The Sand Sharks women's basketball team closed out the weekend at the Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic against host Eckerd, falling 67–60 after a late comeback attempt came up short. USCB erased much of a 13-point deficit and pulled within three in the fourth quarter, but the Tritons held on behind a strong second quarter that created the double-digit gap.
The Sand Sharks drop to 3–4 on the season, while Eckerd improves to 4–2.
Janiyah Heyward led USCB with 24 points on 10 made field goals and added a team-high nine rebounds. Samantha Bardonaro joined her in double figures with 12 points.
Heyward opened the scoring and tallied 15 points in the first half. After Eckerd responded with seven straight to take a 7–2 lead, USCB trailed 12–6 before Heyward buried the team's first three-pointer, sparking a 9–1 run to take a two-point advantage. The Sand Sharks' defense forced multiple turnovers early, leading to eight points off miscues, and a Carolina Coria basket pushed USCB ahead 15–13. After briefly taking a 17–15 lead, the Sand Sharks surrendered a turnover-led layup and a final Tritons bucket, trailing 19–17 after the first quarter.
Eckerd built a six-point lead in the second quarter before Bardonaro hit her first three to cut it to 23–20. The Tritons responded with scoring in the paint and capitalized on turnovers, stretching the lead to 32–22 midway through the period. Heyward ended the run with a put back layup, then added another after consecutive offensive rebounds. An Eckerd three-pointer stopped the momentum, and despite a driving layup from Coria, USCB entered halftime down 40–31.
Heyward led all scorers at the break with 15 points on seven made shots and held a team-high four rebounds.
Eckerd struck first in the second half and extended its lead to 13. Bardonaro scored USCB's first points of the third quarter off a Heyward assist three minutes in. Heyward added the next five points for the Sand Sharks, while Bardonaro contributed four more. The defense forced two additional turnovers, and Izellah Kendrick converted a second-chance put back. In the final minute of the third, Heyward and Taniyah Bowman combined for four points to trim the deficit back to single digits, 53–45.
Eckerd opened the fourth with a basket, but USCB continued to chip away. Kendrick and Bowman pulled the Sand Sharks within seven, and after an Eckerd answer, Bardonaro made it a five-point game at 56–51. Madison Self then converted a layup off a Eckerd turnover an a assist from Heyward to make it 56–53. That was as close as USCB would come, as Eckerd answered each push. With USCB again within three, Savannah Borowicz knocked down a corner three to restore a six-point lead. The Tritons closed out the 67–60 victory.
USCB forced 22 turnovers and recorded eight steals in the game.
The Sand Sharks return to action to open conference play on the road Wednesday and Saturday, beginning with USCA on December 3rd. The next home game is set for December 10 against Augusta.
Stay tuned to uscbathletics.com and follow Sand Shark Athletics on social media for the latest news, updates, and information.
