Temple Terrace, FL —  Having lost their last two games, the Lady Eagles needed someone to step up. Junior guard Jessica Boyd stepped up and scored 16 points on 5-8 shooting to propel the Lady Eagles to a much need 86-63 victory on the road against the Johnson University Royals.

The Lady Eagles hit the ground running against Johnson University. They quickly put together a 14-6 scoring run that gave them a 14-6 lead with under 4 minutes remaining in the 1st quarter. Hope Baker poured in five of her 11 points in the first 6 minutes of the game. The Royals were able to hang with the Lady Eagles throughout the remainder of the 1st quarter. Royals guard Lori St. John drained a three-point field goal with 25 seconds remaining to cut the Lady Eagles lead to 20-18 at the end of the 1^st quarter.

Heading into the 2nd quarter, the Lady Eagles looked to widen their lead against the Royals, a team that came into the contest with a 1-12 record on the season. Midway through the 2nd quarter, the Lady Eagles were able to stretch the lead to 8 points after back-to-back baskets by Grace Imdieke and Lauren Battle. Much like in the 1st quarter, the Royals fought hard to stay in the game. Royals guard Lori St. John added six of her game-high 23 points in the 2^nd quarter and forced several crucial turnovers by the Lady Eagles. Our Lady Eagles were able to weather the storm and headed into halftime with a narrow 36-32 lead. Jessica Boyd led the Lady Eagles with 10 points in the 1st half. The Lady Eagles would shoot 47% from the floor compared to 35% for the Johnson Royals.

At the half, Head Coach Jared Sellars was asked about his team's improved shooting performance. He said, "I told the girl's before the game that we wanted to take good shots. We really wanted to look for our shots. Our guards Lauren [Battle] and Hope [Baker] really did a good job of finding the open man. This allowed us to get high-quality looks."

After giving up the lead to the Royals early in the 3rd quarter, the Lady Eagles would take the lead for good. They had seven different girls score in the 3rd quarter. The most exciting moment of the quarter came when junior forward Jessica Boyd hit a long two-pointer as time expired to give the Lady Eagles a 58-44 lead heading into the 4th quarter.

The 4th quarter would prove to be one of the best quarters of the season for the Lady Eagles. The team put together a 28-point performance in the 4th quarter to seal victory. Ashton Welborn led the team in scoring in the 4th quarter with 7 points. The team shot 3-5 from three-point territory. A 50-point 2nd half performance helped propel the Lady Eagles to a much needed victory. The Lady Eagles were led in scoring by Jessica Boyd with 16 points. Joy Smith and Hope Baker each added 11 points for the team. Lauren Battle, Marlee Moore, and Ashton Welborn nearly missed scoring in double-digits with 8 points apiece. In the contest, the team shot 50% from the field and 36% from behind the three-point arch.

After the game, Jared Sellars was asked about his team's performance. He said, "Everyone was pressing early on in the game. We still showed a little rust, but we were able to get our flow back. Our guards were more aggressive, which allowed Jessica [Boyd] to have some great scoring opportunities. Hopefully this is the start of some good things to come!"

The win brings the Lady Eagles season record to 7-8. In their next game, the Lady Eagles will look to get back to .500 on the season when they take on regional foe Trinity College of Florida today at 3:00 pm CT in New Port Richey, FL.