TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa women’s basketball team continued their historic season by defeating the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish in the Spartans’ 16th straight win.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final Score: #17 Tampa 64, Palm Beach Atlantic 58

Records: Tampa Spartans (17-3, 14-0 SSC), Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (3-18, 1-13 SSC)

Location: Tampa, Fla. || Martinez Athletic Center

All-Time Series: With tonight’s win, the Spartans increase their lead to 26-3 in the all-time series against the Sailfish

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Quarter || Kris Nelson got Tampa on the scoreboard early with a 3 pointer. A series of points by Dori Nagy helped the Spartans jump out to an early lead. UT appeared to have a handle on the game, keeping a lead over the Sailfish the entire first quarter, despite some back and forth. Defensive efforts kept PBA scoreless over the last three minutes of the quarter. || 12-7 Tampa

2nd Quarter || PBA looked to take charge in the second quarter as they settled into the game and put the pressure on Tampa. The Sailfish took the lead for the first time in the game with 7:26 left in the quarter. The Spartans struggled to overcome the Sailfish, and PBA took the largest lead of the quarter with a score of 22-17 with 5:37 remaining. For 3:43, Tampa was held to 0 FG before a jumper by Nagy closed PBA’s lead to only three points. After battling back to tie at 26-26, the Sailfish once again regained the lead with 1:32 remaining. With only one second remaining in the half, Nagy hit a 3-pointer to cut PBA’s lead to just two points going into halftime. || 31-29PBA

3rd Quarter || Melijah Sullivan tied the game back up early on, and a personal foul against the Sailfish allowed LaShayla Wright-Ponder to make two points from the charity line to give Tampa their lead back. Both teams were held scoreless for over 2:40, until Wright-Ponder ended the scoring drought with a made layup. Witih 30 seconds remaing, Julia Ingram would decrease PBA’s lead to just three. || 46-43 PBA

4th Quarter || The quarter break allowed the Spartans to readjust their mindset, and they quickly got back into the game on a 5-0 run. Some poor shooting by the Sailfish and tough defense by the Spartans allowed Tampa to take the largest lead they had seen in a while off a three-pointer by Ingram, and the Spartans barely looked back. A pair of made free throws, followed closely by a made layup by Wright-Ponder, secured the victory for the Spartans late in the fourth quarter.  || 64-58 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Both LaShayla Wright-Ponder (17 points) and Dori Nagy (22 points) finished in double-digit points.

• Tampa had 16 turnovers on the game, but they shot a commanding 46.8% from the field.

• Wright-Ponder led the Spartans in rebounds with 12 total.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• With tonight’s win, Tampa has continued to make history and pushed their win streak to 16 games, dating back to December 4th.

• The Spartans maintain a perfect conference record and ocntinue to stay in first place.

UP NEXT: The Spartans will retuen to action as they take on the Embry-Riddle Eagles in a road matchup this coming Wednesday, February 12, at 5:30pm.

GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA: Fans may watch all home games and Sunshine State Conference contests on TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are also available through TampaStats.com.

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