Tampa Prevails in Double Overtime Over UC-San Diego

LA JOLLA, Calif. - The University of Tampa (6-0) women's basketball team pulled off a double overtime victory over the University of California in San Diego (2-5), topping the home-court Tritons by a 74-66 score.

The victory also put Spartan head coach Tom Jessee atop the all-time wins list in program history. He now stands at 212 career wins, passing Tom Mosca's mark of 211. In his 11th season, it took Mosca 13 years to notch 211 wins as Jessee is also the program's all-time winningest coach by percentage as well.

The Spartan victory comes over a team that was 30-3 in the 2011-12 season, and advanced to the NCAA West Regional Finals. The Tritons were also ranked as high as No. 4.

Four of Tampa's five starters scored in double figures as the teams weathered a low-scoring contest in the first half with UCSD taking a 22-13 lead to the break.

The Spartans trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half before going on a run near the 10-minute mark. The Tritons led 35-25 with 11:42 to play, prompting a 12-2 UT run that gave Tampa a 37-36 lead with 7:51 to play. The go-ahead basket was a 3-pointer from Illyssa Vivo.

Tampa led by four points with 36-seconds to play in regulation, but UCSD answered with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws as the Spartans connected on the front-end of a pair of free throws, leading to overtime.

Neither team led by more than three points in the first overtime, as Tampa's Shamika Williams came up with a game-tying layup with 18-seconds to play to force a second overtime with a 61-61 score.

The Spartans dominated the second overtime as they allowed just one UCSD basket in the first 4:19 of the period. Tampa took a 71-63 lead with 1:07 to play as Williams accounted for a steal and four points in the first four minutes of the second overtime period.

Williams and Moriah Hodge each finished with a team-high 19 points, as Vivo and Sadie Oyer each turned in 12. Hodge was also credited with a team-leading four assists as Williams had three steals to lead all Spartans.

At 6-0, this marks the best Spartan start to a season since the Tom Jessee-coached 2009-10 squad opened at 9-0. The six straight victories is also the second-most in program history to open a season.

Tampa returns home before traveling to Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday at 2 p.m. Live stats will be available through TampaSpartans.com.

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