WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Barry University women’s basketball team beat Palm Beach Atlantic, 63-57, Wednesday, to snap a three-game skid. Barry improved to 12-9.
The Buccaneers will return home for the next three games, beginning with Saturday’s 2 p.m. tip-off against Sunshine State Conference foe Eckerd in the Health & Sports Center.
“This was a big win for us,” Barry senior guard Colette Eule said after scoring in double figures for the second straight game since sitting out the Florida Southern overtime loss. “It was a messy game, but we had people come together in the end and step up, and we got it done.”
Eule, who finished with 16 points, hit a 3-pointer, and Kaylia Richardson and Ines Kerin scored – all within a 1:18 span as the Buccaneers built a 44-29 lead with a little over 15:00 to play. Tyler Hardy’s lay-in on a pretty find from Kerin kept the Buccaneers up by 15 less than two minutes later.
PBA’s Kristie Mason scored to pull the Sailfish within nine, Eule buried her fourth triple of the game to push the Bucs’ lead back to 12. Palm Beach Atlantic’s Kimmie McIntosh went coast-to-coast for a layup to cut it to seven, but Hardy raced down on the ensuing possession and responded with a bucket of her own.
Richardson scored on a driving off-glass burst to the basket to put Barry up, 60-49, but PBA’s Kasie Parker hit a free throw as part of an 8-0 run with 42 seconds left to trim the Bucs’ lead to three. Barry’s Nyjah Porcher sank three of four free throws inside the final 24.8 seconds to seal it for the Bucs.
Hardy finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and three steals, recording her seventh double-double of the season. Porcher had nine points and seven boards, and Kerin five assists, five rebounds as the Buccaneers shot 52 percent from the floor.
“Hopefully we build off this and play a little neater towards the end of the game,” Eule said.
Barry took an 18-11 lead on Eule’s 3-pointer with 9:48 remaining in the first half. The Sailfish cut it to three on Jaz Green’s basket at the 5:00 mark. But the Bucs went on a 10-0 run, touched off by Porcher’s layup inside a minute to give Barry a 13-point lead.
The Buccaneers led 32-23 at the half.
TIP-INS: Barry's Senior Day on Feb. 22 versus Rollins will culminate the three-game homestand. Barry University will hold a special Make-A-Wish Foundation event following the women's game on Feb. 22. Barry is an active participant in the NCAA Division II fundraising initiative to grant wishes to area kids with severe medical issues. To donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Barry University's cause, call 305-899-4823.
BARRY UNIVERSITY 63, PALM BEACH ATL. 57
BARRY UNIVERSITY (12-9)
HARDY, Tyler 7-12 3-6 17; EULE, Colette 6-12 0-1 16; PORCHER, Nyjah 3-5 3-4
9; RICHARDSON, Kaylia 4-5 0-0 8; SCHAHCZINSKI, Emily 1-1 3-4 5; JENKINS,
Alesha 1-2 2-2 4; KERIN, Ines 2-7 0-0 4; PISCONERI, Danika 0-2 0-0 0;
RICHARDSON, Lynae 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-46 11-17 63.
PALM BEACH ATL. (7-18)
GREEN, Jaz 8-20 3-3 21; MASON, Kristie 6-10 1-2 14; PARKER, Kasie 4-17 4-6
12; MCINTOSH, Kimmie 2-9 0-0 4; BUCHANAN, Taylor 1-3 0-0 2; GIBBS, Alecha
1-5 0-0 2; MEERBEEK, Becki 1-3 0-0 2; HOLMES, Ayanna 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-70
8-11 57.
Barry University.............. 32 31 - 63
Palm Beach Atl................ 23 34 - 57
3-point goals--Barry University 4-9 (EULE, Colette 4-6; KERIN, Ines 0-3),
Palm Beach Atl. 3-18 (GREEN, Jaz 2-5; MASON, Kristie 1-5; MCINTOSH, Kimmie
0-1; BUCHANAN, Taylor 0-1; PARKER, Kasie 0-6). Fouled out--Barry
University-None, Palm Beach Atl.-GREEN, Jaz. Rebounds--Barry University 39
(HARDY, Tyler 11), Palm Beach Atl. 37 (GREEN, Jaz 10). Assists--Barry
University 12 (KERIN, Ines 5), Palm Beach Atl. 12 (MCINTOSH, Kimmie 6).
Total fouls--Barry University 13, Palm Beach Atl. 19. Technical fouls--Barry
University-None, Palm Beach Atl.-None. A-561