Score: Berry College 63, Elmira College 54
Records: Berry (5-4), Elmira (7-1)
Location: McArthur Center -- St. Petersburg, Fla.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A slow start and a sloppy offensive performance proved to be detrimental for the Elmira College women's basketball team, which had its undefeated streak snapped by Berry College (Ga.) in the opening round of the D3 St. Pete Classic on Wednesday by a 63-54 final score.

The Soaring Eagles mustered season lows in field goals (15) and field-goal percentage (24.2), while finishing just 4-for-22 (18.2 percent) from 3-point range and coughing up the ball 19 times. In the first half alone, EC made just 19.4 percent (6-of-31) of its shots from the field and committed 13 turnovers.

After the Vikings scored the game's first four points, the Soaring Eagles went on a 6-0 run of their own to take their first lead at 6-4. Danielle Cleary '18 then broke a 6-all tie with her first 3-pointer of the game, and a trey from Emily Green '18 with 3:53 to go in the frame propelled the Purple and Gold to their largest lead, 14-10. Berry finished the first quarter with seven unanswered points to re-gain the advantage before the first break, but Cleary sunk another 3-point field goal to open the second quarter and draw the score even again at 17-17. Over the next 5:14, however, the Vikings helped the Soaring Eagles scoreless and built an eight-point lead that it would never relinquish for the remainder of the game.

Despite trailing by nine at halftime, 30-21, Elmira netted the first six points of the third quarter. The run was capped off by a successful and-one from Lauren Franklin '20 that whittled the deficit down to three points, 30-27. Three points would be as close as EC could come to the Berry lead, as a Franklin lay-up at the 3:48 mark of the third made it a 35-32 score in favor of the Vikings. From there, Berry quickly increased its lead to double-digits heading into the fourth quarter.

Cleary, who posted a game- and season-high 28 points, did her best to spark a comeback by scoring eight consecutive points for the Soaring Eagles in the fourth quarter. After a pair of free throws, the senior from Rochester, New York, converted an and-one. She then sunk a 3-pointer with 3:50 to play in regulation that brought EC within 10 points at 58-48. Elmira came within eight points of the Berry lead on a few occasions in the final minutes, but after a pair of Lindsey Heaton '19 foul shots trimmed the deficit to 62-54, EC missed its final two field goals inside the last minute-and-a-half.

News and Notes

• Elmira suffers its first loss of the year, falling to 7-1 through the first eight games of 2017-18.
• The win gives Berry a 1-0 lead in the all-time series against EC.
• The loss is the first for the Soaring Eagles against a non-conference opponent since falling to SUNY Geneseo on January 5, 2017.
• EC's 24.2 field-goal percentage marked its lowest of the season, although Elmira produced a season-high 80.0 free-throw percentage (20-of-25).
• Cleary's 28 points are the most by a Soaring Eagle since the 2015-16 season, when she scored 29 points on two occasions.
• Franklin's 12 rebounds are a season-best for the sophomore forward.

Up Next
Elmira returns to action on Thursday, December 21, at Eckerd College's the McArthur Center for the second round of the D3 St. Pete Classic, which will pit the Soaring Eagles against the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan University. The opening tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m.