TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa women’s basketball team was victorious, 58-43, in the season opener against LeMoyne-Owen College in part to Emily Eshoo‘s career night. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final Score: University of Tampa Spartans 58, LeMoyne-Owen College Magicians 43
Records: LeMoyne-Owen College (0-1, 0-0 SIAC), University of Tampa (1-0, 0-0 SSC)
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla.
All-time Series: This was the first ever meeting between the two programs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Quarter | The Spartans tallied the first basket of the game with a layup from senior Emily Eshoo. The Magicians bounced back with two 3’s by Averyale Joy to shift the momentum. LeMoyne-Owen locked up defensively on several possessions and forced the Spartans to commit a shot clock violation towards the end of the quarter. LOC ended the first quarter with a four point lead.

2nd Quarter | LeMoyne-Owen got off to a fast start with a 4-0 run, however they went on a three minute scoring drought before Chrissah Shaw stopped the bleeding for the Magicians. The Spartans went on a 7-0 run in the middle of the quarter, led by a Julia Ingram three-point bucket and an Eshoo mid-range jumper. Ingram grabbed the lead for UT with 1:30 remaining in the half with another long-range basket, and Kris Nelson followed up with a three of her own to finish the half with a 26-22 lead. Eshoo played every minute and grabbed seven rebounds in the opening half. Ingram and Nelson led the way with seven points a piece. In the half, UT scored 14 points in the paint compared to LOC’s eight. 

3rd Quarter | Dori Nagy, a transfer from the University of South Florida, recorded eight points in the ten minute period. In the middle of the quarter, the Spartans defense put down the clamps as LOC went scoreless for three minutes. Dana Gettis scored nine points in the quarter to keep the Magicians in the game. Tampa took a 42-33 advantage heading into the final period of play. 

4th Quarter | Eshoo secured her first double-double as a Spartan with 7:47 remaining in the game following a made three-pointer. The senior from Naperville, Illinois registered 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. LeMoyne-Owen went scoreless from the field for about eight minutes, although tacked on four free throws. With about four minutes to go, the Spartans went on a rally as Nagy dished a fast break assist to Ingram for an easy left-handed layup, followed up by a dagger three from Ingram to extend the lead to 15. Tampa ultimately took the season opener by a final score of 58-43.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Three Spartans reached double-figures in scoring (Eshoo, Nagy and Ingram).
• Gettis, the leading returning scorer for LeMoyne-Owen, tallied 19 points in 34 minutes. She averaged 18.3 points per game last season which ranked second in the SIAC.
• Eshoo played a game-high 40 minutes in the season opener. 
• UT shot 72% from the free throw line compared to LeMoyne-Owen’s 50%. 

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Nagy notched a career-high 15 points in her Spartan debut.
• A sophomore from Clearwater, Ingram splashed a career-high 12 points with three 3 pointers made. 
• Eshoo‘s previous career-high in rebounds was nine, before tonight’s 16 rebound performance. 

UP NEXT: The University of Tampa will host day two of the SSC-SIAC Crossover Challenge at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center, as they face off against Claflin University on Saturday at 7 p.m.

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