ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The University of Tampa women’s basketball team trailed by a large margin for the majority of the first three periods before mounting a double-digit comeback for a Sunshine State Conference victory over Eckerd College.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 

Final Score: Tampa 57, Eckerd 54
Records: University of Tampa Spartans (3-3, 2-0 SSC), Eckerd College Tritons (3-2, 1-1 SSC)
Location: St. Petersburg, Fla. || McArthur Center
All-Time Series: The Spartans have now won three straight over Eckerd, improving its edge to 79-18 in the all-time series. This is also the second straight road victory over Eckerd at the McArthur Center for UT.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Quarter | Eckerd closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run as it extended its early lead to an eight-point margin following the first 10 minutes. Tampa connected on just 2-of-10 from the field and committed six turnovers in the period.  || Eckerd 14, Tampa 6

2nd Quarter | The Spartans found their shooting touch in the second quarter, shooting 57.1 percent from the floor, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. The Tritons also made three long-range shots, and capitalized off another six turnovers for the Spartans in the period. || Eckerd 30, Tampa 17

 3rd Quarter | The Tritons continued to hold the double-digit lead, extending their advantage to 18 points at 42-24 with 1:46 to go in the third. Senior point guard Kris Nelson returned following two games to score six of the final eight points of the period during an 8-0 Spartan run. || Eckerd 42, Tampa 32

4th Quarter | UT’s pressure continued as it survived a brief Eckerd run to turn a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to just five points with just over five minutes to play in regulation. A 3-pointer from Nelson put UT within one point at 50-49 with 3:23 to play. Neither team would score for over two minutes until Dori Nagy gave Tampa its first lead since 3-2 with a 3-pointer at 1:07 to make it 52-50 in favor of Tampa. Eckerd would respond with a basket to tie the score at 52-52, as Melijah Sullivan tilted the game back toward UT with a layup at the 10-second mark. The Tritons quickly answered, prompting a Tampa timeout. Out of the timeout, Sullivan found teammate LaShayla Wright-Ponder for a layup with 0.8 seconds on the clock. UT cemented the victory on an Eckerd turnover as the final point came on a free throw by Nagy. || Tampa 57, Eckerd 54

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Nelson finished the game with a team-high 17 points and five assists. She was 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-7 from 3-point range.
• Wright-Ponder and Sullivan also finished in double-digits with 13 and 10 points respectively.
• The team-high in rebounds was six by Wright-Ponder.
• Nagy led the way with three steals, also pulling down five rebounds while scoring seven.
• UT shot 48.9 percent from the field as Eckerd was at 47.9.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Tampa and Florida Southern are the lone SSC teams without a league loss as the Mocs stand at 3-0.

UP NEXT: UT returns home to host Rollins on Saturday at 2 p.m., at the Martinez Center.

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

Follow UT Athletics: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.

Text Alerts: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.

Front Row: Download the official app of UT Athletics on the Apple or Android store. Look for Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan teams. The app is completely free.