After a back and forth first half, Embry-Riddle ran away from Benedictine Mesa in the second half in Phoenix as they won 82-55 on Saturday afternoon. 

The Redhawks got out in front after they converted two ERAU turnovers into a 4-0 lead.  Aryana Gonzales (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) put the Eagles on the board with a three point basket and Mehgan Strickler (Glendale, Ariz.) followed with a three of her own to tie the score at 6-6.  The first five Embry-Riddle baskets were all three pointers as Gonzales made another one, Zakiirah King (Chandler, Ariz.) made one and Hannah Urbano (Kailua, Hawaii) added another.  At the end of the first quarter the Eagles led 21-17.

Nicole Evenson (Bemidji, Minn.) started the second quarter with yet another three for ERAU.  Both defenses played strong as neither team scored for about a minute and a half until Liz Behan (St. Peters, Mo.) ended the drought with a layup to give Embry-Riddle a seven point advantage.  King made back to back baskets late in the half as ERAU took their largest lead at 13 points with 55 seconds remaining.  BenU scored the last four points of the half and at halftime the Eagles were up 42-33. 

 King kept her strong game going with five quick points to start the second half for ERAU, but the Redhawks stayed in the game as they made a few free throws and a jump shot.  With 5:12 left in the third quarter, Susie Reynoso (Escondido, Calif.) brought the Embry-Riddle lead back to 11 with a made three point jump shot. The next six points of the game were all scored by Behan as she extended the Eagle lead to 17 points at 58-41.  At the end of the third, ERAU was up 62-45. 

Embry-Riddle's offense was clicking in the fourth quarter as they made four more three point baskets.  Behan started the quarter with four more points on a layup and a jump shot.  Just as Benedictine started to look like they might make a comeback, Reynoso made another three point basket and Ella Schott (Cave Creek, Ariz.) made one as well to bring ERAU's lead back to 22 points.  Embry-Riddle went on to win the game 82-55.

Behan led ERAU with 21 points as she went 7-9 on field goals.  She also led the team in rebounds with 9.  Micaela Hidalgo (Greeley, Colo.) had seven assists for the Eagles.

Embry-Riddle will return home and play UC Merced on Thursday evening at 5:30pm in the Activity Center.